YuGiOh! Dawn of Fate
by Skyla Doragono
Summary: Year four at Hogwarts when Battle City is disrupted by the Death Eaters, it's only a prelude of what's to come. The day of fate begins with the dawn...
1. Anxieties

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER ONE – ANXIETIES**

_He was running… running… running… He did not know where he was running to, but if the pounding sound behind him was any indication, his destination involved getting away from _that. _He could feel his heart thudding in his chest, and could hear his breath coming out as it burned through his throat and lungs. Yet somehow he was not tired, physically anyway. Mentally he was drained, as if he had spent a whole day taking a Potions exam. He had not felt that way since… _

_"Hikari-pretty…" _

_The hauntingly familiar voice made him come to a skidding halt. He looked around in terror, fearing the owner of the voice would come out of the darkness any moment. _

_"Go away!" he shouted. "You're gone; you don't belong in the real world anymore!" _

_The creature laughed at him, a cold laugh that was not entirely sane. "Who says?" _

_He narrowed his eyes, trying to find the creature. _"I_ say!" he shouted. "I sent you away to the Shadow Realm and fulfilled my duty to my pharaoh. I have _nothing_ to do with you anymore!" _

_That voice laughed again, sending shivers down his spine. "Well, hikari-pretty, you're right about one thing. Oré-sama has nothing to do with you either…" _

_He frowned. "What's that supposed to mean?" _

_The laugh started out low this time, sounding almost human, before increasing in a pitch and volume that definitely was a show of insanity. Then, the laugh died away as quickly as it came, and the creature left him with words he knew he would never forget. _

_"When next we meet, we will not share the same face…" _

-.oOOo.-

Marik Ishitar awoke with a start, gasping in the warming air of the early morning Domino City hungrily. He looked about his room on the second floor, almost expecting that _creature_ to come out and grab him any moment. Why he had dreamed about that thing was beyond him; he had not even given it much thought since he had started attending classes at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

He did not get much of a chance to dwell on it, as a light tapping sound brought his attention to the door.

"Otouto, are you awake yet?" came the soft voice of his older sister, Isis.

"Hai, onee-san," he answered. He swung his legs over the side of the bed as she opened the door, letting in his cat, Rishid, as she did so. Isis frowned when she saw his flushed face and damp clothing, and went over to sit next to him.

"Otouto, diajoubu desu ka?" she asked, brushing his unruly bangs out of his face. Rishid hopped onto the bed before curling up in Marik's lap. He stroked the cat's fur thoughtfully, not exactly sure how to answer her question.

"Onee-san… is it possible for my darkness to come back into this world?"

Isis blinked, caught off guard by the question. She recovered her composure quickly enough, however.

"I suppose if someone let it out of the Shadow Realm," she answered honestly. "I don't think anyone would be that stupid, however."

"But it _is_ possible?" Marik stressed.

Isis frowned, concerned. "Marik, what brought this on?"

Marik kept his gaze to the ground as he recounted his dream to her, feeling that sense of dread well up inside of him as he did so. Once he finished, they were both silent for a long moment. Isis put a comforting hand on his shoulder, and he let out a shuddering breath.

"It's just, onee-san," he began. "When it said that last part, about not having the same face, I can't help but think of Aishisu's prophecy last year. 'The seven Chosen will stand before the Un-chosen'. Is that what that means? Will my darkness possess someone not chosen by the Millennium Items? What if it's one of my friends!"

Isis shushed him, wrapping him in a hug and rocking him back and forth, like she used to do when they were children.

"Otouto, the future is never certain," she said soothingly. "I of all people know this. Prophecies and sights into the future can be changed by the smallest, simplest act. Never forget that." She let go of him then and stood up. "Now, I do believe you have a tournament to attended, ne?"

Marik looked over to the clock. It was eight in the morning; he had two hours to get ready for the day, meet up with his friends in their usual spot, and then go to his starting place before the Fourth Annual Battle City Tournament began. He jumped off of his bed.

He had to hurry!

-.oOOo.-

Ryou Bakura stood before the mirror in his bedroom, wishing away the image that looked back at him. In the mirror, he was hunched over slightly, buried under several wrappings of blankets. His nose was red and running, his skin was paler than normal, his eyes were bloodshot with large dark bags of sleeplessness hanging from them. His other self, standing transparent behind him slightly, summed up the image in the mirror the best way possible.

"You look like shit."

Bakura could only manage a groan as he shuffled around the tomb robber (never mind that he could have walked right through him) and collapsed onto his bed before falling into a coughing fit. He covered his head with the blankets he had draped over his back, before issuing a loud honking sound as he blew his nose. Yami Bakura just shook his head sadly, pulling out his desk chair and sitting on it backwards.

"Geeze, Ryou, you _would_ be the only one to get the flu in the middle of the summer," he stated.

"You say dat like you'b never been sick before," Bakura replied nasally, his voice muffled by the blankets.

"I haven't," the tomb robber replied, sounding more than a little grateful.

"Usou…!" he moaned in reply.

"I'm not lying," Yami Bakura responded. "You didn't normally get _this_ sick in Khemet. And if you did, you didn't live to tell about it."

Bakura grumbled something under his breath, before saying, "Well find den!"

It took Yami Bakura a moment to realize what happened next. One minute, he was sitting in the chair, minding his own business. The next minute, he was buried under a pile of blankets. He only realized what happened when he let out a mighty sneeze.

Bakura had forced them to switch places!

"Hey! Ryou! Don' you dare!" he exclaimed aloud, tossing off the covers to see that his hikari was not sitting where he had been only a few moments ago.

_Don't worry, Bakura-kun,_ his cheery voice came from behind his Soul Room. _You'll be fine. Make sure you get to the finals this year, ne? _

With that, there was a click, like the mental locking of a door, and his hikari fell silent. Yami Bakura growled under his breath, his stuffed nose making it come out as a sort of half whine, wishing he had something he could break. True, he was not as sick as Bakura had been – their body always did seem to perform better whenever he was in control – but that was not the point.

The point was that he had always been urging his lighter half to develop more of a backbone. Though he was a very supportive and loyal person, courage to stand up to people was one of his low points. He was a pushover, and sometimes the tomb robber was embarrassed by it. He had always thought his hikari would never take his advice because he was such a softy; he had never counted on his own advice being used _against_ him!

Yami Bakura crawled off the bed, swaying a little bit from the lightheadedness that the flu brought. Grumbling, he looked about the room, wondering where the heck Bakura had left that damned Duel Disk III last.

-.oOOo.-

Yugi Mutou yawned tiredly, letting his friend from England, Draco Malfoy, drag him through the streets of Domino City, to the spot they always gathered at just before the Battle City Tournament started. The teenaged duelist, referred to by many other duelists as Yugioh, was by no means a morning person. True, he always managed to get himself moving during school, but that was school, this was summer. It was not fair that the tournament had to start before lunch.

Draco looked over his shoulder at him as he dragged the older boy along, a smirk on his face.

"C'mon, Yugi-kun," he said, his Japanese still a little shaky, "you've gotta wake up already. The first person you duel against is going to win because you're too tired to hold up your cards."

Yugi rubbed a hand over his eyes, biting back a yawn as he did so. "I need coffee…" he murmured.

Draco just frowned. "Well, if you hadn't woken up so late, you'd have gotten a chance to get some."

Yugi just groaned, looking around for a vending machine that had some kind of caffeine drink in it. He was just about to make a brake for one when Draco's speed suddenly increased, almost making him loose his footing.

"Oy! Seto-kun! Jonouchi-kun!"

Seto Kaiba and Katsuya Jonouchi were already standing at their favorite meeting place next to the Domino Square fountain. The two of them turned at Draco's shout and waved, glad to see that they made it.

Jonouchi was in his usual casual t-shirt and jeans, though he was carrying a satchel over his shoulder that obviously had his work uniform, in the event he got called into his job at one of the many garages in town. Seto had left behind in his limo – which was parked a small distance away – what had become known as his "Battle City Trench", the long white with odd pink lining trench coat that he always wore during the Battle City Tournaments. He was apparently going for inconspicuous, and he was so in his simple black jumpsuit, but it did not stop people from recognizing him.

"Hey, Draco-kun, I'm surprised you managed to drag Yugi out of bed in time!" Jonouchi exclaimed with a laugh. Yugi just grumbled, fighting back another yawn. "Yugi-kun, is Yami Yugi-kun even awake yet?"

"Nope," he replied, rubbing his eyes again. "Don't worry, I'll wake him up before the tournament starts."

"I hope so," Seto replied, that challenging smirk on his face. "I wouldn't want my only rival to loose because he was too tired to hold his cards."

Yugi gave Draco a look. "Didn't we already have this discussion?"

Draco's laughing was cut short as someone let out a mighty sneeze. The four of them turned in time to see Yami Bakura blowing his nose on a handkerchief. Everyone sweatdropped as the tomb robber glared at them, daring them to say something.

"What are you even doing out here?" Jonouchi asked. Yami Bakura opened his mouth to answer, only to burst into a fit of coughing instead. Seto went over and patted him on the back, helping him get it out of his system. The tomb robber took a deep breath afterwards, sniffing as he did so.

"Ryou locked 'emself in his Soul Roomb," he explained, struggling to talk normally. "Id's ten timebs worst when he's in controlb."

"You still sound awful," Yugi said sympathetically. He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small packet of vitamins. "Here. These might help a bit."

"Thank youb," Yami Bakura said gratefully, popping one in his mouth right away as Marik ran up to join them.

"Hey, guys!" the Egyptian exclaimed happily. "How's it going?"

The tomb robber answered him by issuing forth another sneeze. Marik sweatdropped.

"Okay… anyone else?"

If glares were bullets, Marik would have had two holes in his forehead. Seto chuckled at their antics as another limo pulled up next to his. The boys did not pay much attention to it, even as a tall man in a black suit with pink pinstripes left the car, his long white hair covering half of his face. Of course, once the man spoke, it was kind of hard _not_ to notice him.

"Kaiba-boy! Yugi-boy!"

Both Seto and Yugi cringed at the high-pitched voice, turning around slowly as the man came up behind them. Yami Bakura chose to back up a bit, half hiding behind Kaiba and Jonouchi so the man would not notice him, at least not right away.

"What do you want, Pegasus?" Seto demanded, his voice low and threatening.

Pegasus J. Crawford smiled broadly, before wrapping an overly friendly arm around his shoulders.

"Why, Kaiba-boy, I'm here observing this tournament you're holding," he replied warmly, ignoring the overall sense of animosity from most of the boys. "This is your fourth tournament, and it does involve my card game, after all."

His_ card game?_ a certain voice within Yugi's head grumbled, still sounding half asleep. _Can I remind him exactly where "his" game came from? _

Yugi resisted the urge to smile. _Not right now. Maybe later. _

_Goodie, goodie. _

Yugi put a hand over his mouth, pretending to yawn in order to hide a smile. Not long ago, he had stayed up late with Yami Yugi to watch an American horror movie his grandfather had bought ages ago. In his opinion, it was more gross than scary, and his other self had taken a liking to one of the main characters, who had been arrested prior to the movie for cannibalism. It was things like that that made Yugi wonder if the pharaoh hung out with the tomb robber too much.

Meanwhile, Seto's teeth were clenched, his fists balled up and shaking. Obviously, the mere presence of Pegasus got on his nerves, not to mention being touched by him.

"Get your hands off of me," he growled in a low voice, "or _I_ will send _you_ to the Shadow Realm."

Pegasus laughed heartily. "Kaiba-boy, you need a Millennium Item to do _that."_

Seto's face twisted into a smirk. He reached behind his back, pulling out the Millennium Rod from its not so hidden place in his belt. He held it over his chest, making sure the one eyed man could easily see the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness at the top.

"A Millennium Item like this?"

No one there had ever seen anyone back away from Seto so fast. Jonouchi and Yami Bakura sniggered, while Yugi and Marik tried not to do so. Draco was just lost in all of the exchanges; obviously something had happened between these people that he was not aware of yet. Pegasus cleared his throat; trying to regain what little dignity he had left as he straightened his suit.

"Ahem… yes… well…" he began, before collecting himself. "Actually, I'm really here to speak with Yugi-boy."

Yugi gave a start, surprised. "Me? Whatever for?"

The smile returned to Pegasus' face. "Of course you. I need to speak to you about the conditions of the duel we had during Duelist Kingdom. Do you remember them?"

Yugi raised an eyebrow at the mention of the first tournament he had ever participated in. It took quite a bit to get under his skin, but being reminded of the quest he had to undertake because a man that could not accept death had captured the soul of his grandfather was one of those things.

"Vaguely," he answered. "I was a little more concerned about other things at the time."

Pegasus cleared his throat, uncomfortable again. "Yes, well," he began again. "One of those conditions was that you would gain sixty percent of Industrial Illusions' stocks if you won, in essence, becoming the CEO."

The other boys exchanged looks, surprised, as Yugi processed this. He vaguely recalled hearing that, but he was not entirely sure. Duelist Kingdom had been back before he truly understood the fact that he shared his body with another being, and the duel against Pegasus started just before he communicated with Yami Yugi for the first time in the corridors of his mind. In short, his memory from that time was still a little foggy.

"So why are you bringing this up now?"

"For the obvious reasons," he continued without missing a beat. "You're nineteen now, and as far as I know, not in college. Given the circumstances, I am willing to put you through business school to prepare you for taking your place in the company."

Yugi did not have to look to know that everyone was staring at him. He squirmed a bit uncomfortably, before answering, "I… would have to think about this. In September, however, I'll be starting year four of seven at a… _very_ private school in England. No matter what I choose, it will have to wait until my schooling is done."

Pegasus seemed a bit disappointed, more from the fact that he did not know about his current academic situation than the fact that he could not give him a straight answer. He nodded and bid goodbye to the boys, before walking back to his limo. As soon as the car was driving away, however, Jonouchi practically jumped on Yugi.

"Yugi-ster!" he exclaimed. "You know what this means! You'll get to _make_ the cards now! And with mou hitori no Yugi, you'll never run out of ideas for it. This is fantastic!"

"Not only that," Marik added, his tone more subdued but no less excited, "but since you're also a wizard, you can help introduce the game more into the wizarding community around the world. I don't know about you, but I think it would be cool to have my monsters moving around on their cards."

Seto's face suddenly lit up. "Marik, you're a genius…"

Marik stared at him. "I… am…?"

"Yugi-kun," he continued, ignoring the Egyptian, "the magic dueling board, that might be why it's not working. We're trying to use non-magical cards on a magical device. You could open up a branch of Industrial Illusions to make a magical series of the cards."

"Demo… Seto-kun, minna… I don't know if that's even what I _want_ to do," Yugi objected. "I never gave it much thought what I would do after I got out of school, even when I was just in high school. I never got the chance! I was so busy worrying about saving Ojii-chan, or acquiring the God Cards, or getting mou hitori no boku's memory back, or everything else that what would happen after school let out sort of took a back seat."

"It'd stillb a breat obbertunity, though," Yami Bakura interjected, before taking a moment to blow his nose. "Dink aboub it, kib. You and pharaob woulb rule ober the game again insteab of just blaying it."

Yugi still looked uncertain, but they did not have much time to think about it, as Draco looked at his watch (which was strapped on upside down).

"Guys, we'll have to finish this conversation later," he pointed out. "We're going to be late if we don't get to our starting positions now."

Seto nodded. "Right; I'm off to headquarters to announce the start. See you all at the finals!"

Everyone said their goodbyes (Yami Bakura sneezed), before taking off at a run in all directions, heading for the starting positions indicated on the Puzzle Cards they had received when they signed up.


	2. The Dark Mark

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER TWO – THE DARK MARK**

Draco grit his teeth as his opponent ended his turn. This creepy, aqua-green haired duelist had jumped him almost immediately after Seto's opening speech finished broadcasting all over Domino City. The guy was just plain weird; apparently he had seen him hanging out with Yugi before, and felt that it was necessary to challenge and defeat him in order to get to his friend. Right, whatever; like Draco was really going to be beaten by a low class duelist that used nothing but insects in his deck.

As he drew a card and looked down at his hand, however, he was debating whether or not that might be possible. He had no monsters on his side of the field, and only one in his hand that he knew would not be able to stand up to his opponent's huge (and considerably gross) Great Moth. Draco looked through the magic and trap cards that he had; he could always use Card Hand Kill to get some better mon—

He cut that line of thought off as he saw the trap card next to it. Smirking to himself, he took two cards from his hand.

"I set one card on the field," Draco shouted, sliding the trap card into the proper slot, "and I summon Magnet Warrior Beta, sign of attack! End of turn!"

His opponent – he never did catch his name, but he was supposed to be some kind of Japanese junior champion or something – just laughed a high pitched, annoying laugh as the small and yellow Magnet Warrior appeared on his side of the field.

"You dare to approach my Great Moth with such a pitiful monster?" the insect boy laughed. "Great Moth! Attack! Destroy that thing!"

Draco smirked. "You bloody moron…" he said in English.

"Nani?" his opponent asked as the Great Moth reared up to attack. Apparently, this kid did not understand a word of English. More fun for him.

"Uncover card!" Draco shouted, switching back to his broken Japanese. The card he had set on the field earlier flipped up to reveal… "Magic Cylinder!"

His opponent released an outraged scream as two cylinders appeared on Draco's side of the field. One of them absorbed Great Moth's attack, while the other sent the attack back at his opponent's Life Points, bringing him to near defeat. His opponent pointed an accusing finger at him.

"You…! You…!"

"Yeah, me, me," Draco replied dully, crossing his arms. "You going to do something?"

"End turn…" he opponent growled out.

Draco shrugged before drawing a card. Summoned Demon! It looked like he had this duel in the bag. He held onto the Demon, and took one of the many magic cards in his hand.

"Activate magic card!" he shouted. "Cross Sacrifice!"

The strange, strangled sound and the look of utter horror on his opponent's face as the Cross Sacrifice card appeared on his side of the field were so funny; it took everything for Draco not to loose his composure.

"I offer your precious Great Moth as sacrifice to call forth Summoned Demon!"

Draco almost felt sorry for the guy. Almost. His battle phase came, and the combined attack of Magnet Warrior Beta and Summoned Demon were easily enough to send his opponent's life points to zero, and to knock the boy off of his feet. He went up to him as soon as the simulated dust disappeared, amidst the cheers from the crowd that had sprung up while they were dueling. He crossed his arms as he looked down at the boy sprawled out on the ground.

"C'mon, you know what happens now," he said. "Hand over your Puzzle Card and your rarest card."

His opponent looked up at him miserably. "P-

please… show some mercy…"

"Mercy?" Draco asked. "Would you have shown me mercy if I had lost?"

The boy groaned.

"Didn't think so. Now, hand 'em over!"

Draco ended up walking away about a minute later, one Puzzle Card and one Great Moth richer. He looked at the Great Moth card in slight disgust; true, it was a powerful card, but what a hassle to get it out on the field. It was not worth it in his opinion, and would probably end up in the little box that held all the other cards he would eventually trade for cards that he did want.

"Oy! Draco-kun!"

Draco turned to see Jonouchi running toward him, waving his arm energetically. He waited for the older boy to catch up with him, a grin on his face.

"Hey, I saw you were dueling Insector Haga on the display board in the square," he explained once he caught up to him.

"Oh, was that that guy's name?" Draco asked, making a face. "Fits."

"Well, how'd it go?" Jonouchi asked. The English boy winked, holding up his two new cards as he let out a little evil laugh. He just chuckled. "Oh, man, you took his Great Moth? Geeze, even I didn't have the heart to do that."

"You've faced him before?" Draco asked, putting the cards in the card holster he had borrowed from Yugi.

"Yeah, in the first Battle City," Jonouchi explained. "I ended up taking his Insect Queen. That one's actually a good card, for an insect card."

Draco made a face. "I'll take your word on that."

Jonouchi chuckled. "Hey, there's a place in the city where some team duels are going on. You wanna go?"

A thoughtful look crossed Draco's face. He had never been in a team duel before…

"Sure!"

-.oOOo.-

Yugi looked about as he walked down the street, sort of disappointed. It had always been difficult to find opponents during these tournaments – except, of course, the first Battle City, but there was a reason then why so many people were after him. Now that word had more or less spread that he always won every duel he was involved in, people were outright avoiding him, literally crossing the street to get away from him. It was sort of depressing for him.

_Don't worry so much, koibito,_ Yami Yugi murmured in his head. _I'm sure you'll find someone crazy enough to go against you. _

That got a smile out of Yugi. _I hope you're right. My luck, I won't end up in the final because I didn't have enough Puzzle Cards. _

He watched sadly as another person with a duel disk on their arm took one look at him and ran off in the opposite direction.

_Hum… maybe you should try taking the initiative…_

_Or wearing a hat,_ Yugi replied sourly. Yami Yugi just chuckled. _Maybe I should hunt down Insector Haga or Dinosaur Ryuusaki. They'd try to take me down in a blink. _

_Sounds like a better plan than the hat,_ the pharaoh responded, amused.

_Oh, hush, you,_ Yugi said, before taking off down the street.

-.oOOo.-

Seto had one hand in his pocket, and the other was occupied with holding onto his ever-present briefcase as he made his way down the street. Once he was sure that Battle City was well and underway, he headed out into the battlefield, ready to collect the Puzzle Cards he needed to go to the final. Not many people were challenging him, however. That was the hard part about being recognized world wide as a Duel Monsters champion: casual duelists were too afraid to challenge you, and more experienced duelists were not stupid enough to.

Still, though, Seto would never give up on this game. This was his game, something that he enjoyed immensely. He would never stop playing it because other people would not challenge him.

_Now that's what I like to hear,_ a certain voice in his head murmured. Seto mentally chuckled.

_Of course you like to hear that,_ he returned. _You're just about the same as me._

_Not exactly the same,_ Yami Seto replied, a humored note in his voice. _I'm not nearly as much of a hard ass as you are. _

_Urusai… _

Yami Seto started howling in laughter, as Seto rolled his eyes. His other self was certainly more fun loving than he ever was. Of course, if he had spent five thousand years imprisoned in an item, he did not doubt he would be the same way.

Suddenly, the tiny communicator built into the collar of his trench coat went off. He brought the Kaiba Corporation logo near his mouth, so he could speak into it.

"Hai, Kaiba here."

"Onii-sama," Mokuba's voice came over the communicator, "there's something wrong."

"What is it, Mokuba?" Seto asked, sitting down on a bench, setting his briefcase on the ground next to him. He glanced briefly at the brick wall behind him, before focusing on what Mokuba was saying.

"We've got unregistered Duel Disks being activated all through the city," his little brother replied, the sound of typing easily heard in the background.

Seto frowned. "Could it be what's left of GHOULS?"

"Doubtful," Mokuba answered. "We would at least be able to get a reading on the cards they're using, but right now we can't get – _Whoa!" _

Seto stood up. "What is it, Mokuba?"

"There's a strong energy signature coming from the same quadrant as one of these unknown duelists," he announced, the typing in the background increasing in intensity. "E quadrant, directly north of you."

Seto looked… and his mouth fell open in shock. A massive skull rose up over the buildings of the city, comprised of what looking like brilliant emerald stars, with a serpent writhing from its mouth like a tongue. It rose higher and higher into the sky, blazing in a haze of green and black smoke.

_By Ra…_ Yami Seto muttered. _What the hell is that…? _

_Whatever it is, it can't be good,_ Seto returned, before speaking into the communicator, "Mokuba, I want you to stay at the command center. Don't leave unless it's an emergency."

"All right, onii-sama," Mokuba answered, concerned. "What about you?"

"I'll be trying to find out what –"

Before he could even finish, the wall behind Seto exploded, sending him flying. He landed on the sidewalk across the street at a painful angle, and he heard something in his arm snap. He got back to his feet as quickly as his body would allow, holding his injured arm as he did so, the ringing in his ears preventing him from hearing Mokuba's frantic shouts.

_Hikari… daijoubu!_ his other self asked, his frantic voice garbled by the ring.

_Hai, hai, _Seto replied, wincing against the sound.

The dust settled slowly, and as he squinted through the haze, he could vaguely make out the shapes of darkly robbed figures on the other side of what had been the wall. The only part of the robbed people he could make out clearly was their faces; each one concealed by the whiteness of a death's head.

_Are… are these those GHOULS guys Marik-kun used to command?_ Yami Seto asked.

_Iie… these are something else…_

-.oOOo.-

People went screaming past Marik in the street as the serpent tongued skull rose high into the air. He stared at the thing in shock, hardly believing what he was seeing. His girlfriend, Hermione, had told him about that mark a few times before. It was the Dark Mark, the symbol of Lord Voldemort… but what was it doing here in _Japan?_

"Oy! Grabekeeber!"

Marik turned around in surprise, to see Yami Bakura running toward him. The tomb robber stopped once he reached him, bending over to hold onto his knees as he fought to regain his breath.

"Who woulb 'a doughd dat colds could be do diring…" he gasped, before straightening himself and pointing toward the Mark. "Is dat what I dink it is?"

"Hai, the Dark Mark," Marik answered.

"So whab the hell are da Death Eaters doin' in dis country?" Yami Bakura asked. Marik just smirked.

"There's only one way to find out," he said, before sprinting off toward the Mark. The tomb robber rolled his eyes, putting a hand to his forehead.

"Oy, oy, and youb accuse me 'a bein' reckless…" he muttered, before heading off after him.

The Gravekeeper and the tomb robber ran side by side through the streets of the city, the only ones crazy enough to be going _toward _the Dark Mark. When they finally did reach the spot directly under the snake-tongued skull, however, they were in for a surprise. The entire block had been blown to bits, leaving behind a crater large enough to fit a folded up football field. The two of them stood at the edge of the crater, looking down into the destroyed area.

"Oh… doy…" Yami Bakura muttered. Marik gave him a look.

"Maybe you should go home," he suggested. "You know, curl up under the covers with a gigantic mug of green tea."

The tomb robber glared.

"Or not…"

"Hey!" a voice came from behind a pile of debris, nearly scaring the two of them out of their wits. They turned to see an elderly man coming toward them. "It's dangerous here! Go back to your homes where it's safe!"

"Oy, Ojii-san, I woulb say da same ding to youb," Yami Bakura returned with a smirk.

"But –"

"Don't worry, Ojii-san," Marik interrupted. "We can handle this."

With that said, the two of them took off into the crater, sliding down to the ground below. The old man ran to the lip of the hole, looking down at the boys as they made their way. He sighed tiredly, frustrated.

"Damn muggles…"

-.oOOo.-

Draco held a hand over Jonouchi's big mouth as a troupe of Death Eaters marched down the street. He gazed out slightly from the alley they were hiding in, making sure he could not be seen as he observed the followers of Lord Voldemort. The last follower passed by them without noticing him, and he let out a sigh of relief as he let go of Jonouchi.

"What's the big idea!" the older boy growled, before Draco shushed him.

"Not so loud!" he hissed. "Those people are dangerous."

"Who are they?" Jonouchi asked, whispering this time.

"Death Eaters," Draco replied, "dark wizards."

"Basically not nice guys."

"In a nutshell."

Draco looked back out from the alley again. He did not see anyone, and was about to suggest that they try to find the others, when he was roughly grabbed by the collar of his shirt and lifted off of his feet. The young wizard kicked with all his might, connecting with his captor's lower region. His captor let out a pain-filled moan before letting go. He landed on the ground with a thud, the bag he had been carrying around falling off of his shoulder and almost spilling its contents onto the street.

Draco got back to his feet as another man appeared behind his attacker, the frown on his face apparent even under the death's head mask.

"The Malfoy boy?" the Death Eater asked. "You should be dead and buried by now. What are you doing still walking around?"

Draco took a step back, almost tumbling over his bag as he did so. "That's for me to know and for you to find out," he snapped in return. "Preferably the hard way."

The Death Eater who grabbed him finally regained himself, and was pointing his wand at the young wizard.

"How about I just kill you right here?" he snarled, raising his wand. "Avada—"

Before Draco could even react, the man was suddenly sprawled out on the ground, his wand skittering away from him. Jonouchi stood over the Death Eater, cracking the knuckles on the hand he had used to knock the man down.

"Jonouchi…!" Draco moaned weakly, wondering if the Japanese boy knew what would have happened if he had moved a few seconds too slow.

The other Death Eater glared at them, and then down to his companion on the ground.

"We don't have time for this," he stated. "We have more important matters to deal with."

"Hey!" Jonouchi shouted, holding up his Duel Disk III in challenge. "You're not going anywhere without getting through us first!"

Draco was about to tell him off; to point out that this was not the time for games, when he noticed something particularly odd. Both Death Eaters had duel disks on their arms, though they were not the same as normal disks. Instead of white with blue and red panels, these duel disks were jet black and accented with green and silver panels. He grit his teeth as the Death Eater that was still standing sneered and nodded in consent to Jonouchi's challenge.

Since when did Death Eaters solve their problems with Duel Monsters!

Draco picked up his bag again as the two opposing forces backed away from each other, providing themselves with enough space to duel.

"Jonouchi-kun," he whispered softly once he was sure the Death Eaters were out of earshot, "this duel… I may have to make it a Yami-no-Game."

Jonouchi looked down at him, surprised. Yami-no-Games meant the Shadow Realm, a place he was not overly fond of, given his experience with it.

"Whatever for?"

"Because, Death Eaters don't like to loose," Draco replied. "If we win – and I don't doubt we will – they will try something. I know it; these people are underhanded bastards. Thing is, would you be okay with that?"

Jonouchi glanced at him for a moment as they readied their duel disks.

"Yeah, no problem."

-.oOOo.-

Yugi had been nearly trampled several times as he fought to find a place where he would be safe from the panicked crowds. Finally managing to make it to a park, he heaved a grateful sigh of relief, before gazing up at the Dark Mark hovering above the city. This was really bad; he had heard many tales about Voldemort and his Death Eaters from the other kids at school, but he never thought he would see anything like that in Japan.

"Yugi-san!"

The shout, coming from halfway across the park, broke him from his thoughts. He looked up to see a familiar brown haired young girl clad in shorts and a pink and yellow top running toward him.

"Shizuka-chan!" he exclaimed once she caught up to him. "What are you doing here?"

Shizuka Jonouchi paused a moment to catch her breath before answering. "I wanted to surprise my onii-chan," she explained, "but then that horrible thing appeared, and people started shouting. Some people in strange black robes started chasing me too. They kept saying that all muggles must die. I was so scared, Yugi-san!"

Yugi smiled comfortingly. "It's okay now, Shizuka-chan," he said. "We'll find Jonouchi, and hopefully avoid any kind of conflict."

She returned his smile, though she did not seem convinced about the last part. "Do you know where onii-chan is right now?"

He was about to reply, when a loud beeping tune started going off in his pocket. He jumped, surprised; he had gotten a cell phone after the first Battle City, just in case anything like that ever happened again he would be able to let his grandfather know if he was all right or not. Other than his grandfather, not many people had the number.

Yugi took the small phone out of his pocket and flipped it open.

"Mushi mushi?"

"Yugi-kun? Daijoubu desu ka?"

Yugi paused a moment, frowning. "Mokuba-kun!" he exclaimed. He knew he did not give either Kaiba his cell phone number. Then again, this was the Kaibas; Mokuba probably looked it up directly through the company his phone was registered to. "Hai, I'm fine. What's wrong… other than the obvious."

"Onii-sama is in trouble," Mokuba's voice came back over the phone, sounding highly distressed. "I was talking to him, when there was a loud explosion. He hasn't responded since, and I'm picking up activity of the people with unregistered duel disks where he is."

Yugi frowned. Unregistered duel disks…?

"Where is he?" he asked.

"Near the corner of East Twenty-Second and Crossing Street," the younger Kaiba answered. "Careful, Yugi-kun. In some places where these people are at, I'm picking up very high energy signatures. I don't know what they are, but they're not your average duelists."

Yugi fought the urge to roll his eyes. No kidding…

"All right, Mokuba-kun, I'll be right there," he said, before hanging up and flipping the phone closed. He turned to Shizuka, who had been waiting patiently for him to finish.

"Seto-kun's in trouble, and he's probably hurt, too," he explained. "Do you want to come with me, or do you want to try to find some shelter?"

Shizuka bit her lip, apprehensively. "I want to come with you, Yugi-san. If we run into my brother along the way, I want to see him and make sure he's all right."

Yugi smiled, understanding. "Okay, then! Let's go!"


	3. Team Duel Showdown

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER THREE – TEAM DUEL SHOWDOWN**

The only sound that could be heard was Yami Bakura's wheezing breath as he struggled to breath properly. Other than that, the remains of the busy city street that surrounded the Gravekeeper and the tomb robber were eerily quiet. Marik went slightly ahead of the Egyptian spirit, who had stopped to see to a young boy trapped under what had been a car. This kind of devastation… they should have been able to hear something – anything – that would have caused it. Neither of them had heard a thing, however, but it all looked too real to be an illusion.

Yami Bakura rejoined him after a moment, a saddened look on his face.

"I hate dis shit," he muttered.

"You and me both," Marik agreed. "C'mon, let's go see if the others are all right."

The two of them turned, and were about to head back the way they came, when a burst of magic suddenly exploded at their feet, forcing them to jump back. They looked up to see two hooded figures standing before them, their faces shrouded with a death's head. Out of instinct, Marik reached toward his back pocket, only for his hand to come back empty.

"Crap! I forgot my wand!" he exclaimed. Yami Bakura gave him a critical look.

"Like youb coulb use it anyway," he replied.

Before Marik could retort, one of the Death Eaters started chuckling evilly.

"Ah… the possessor of the God of Ra," he sneered. "Just who we were looking for…"

Marik and Yami Bakura backed up, surprised. It was then that the two of them noticed the oddly colored Duel Disks on the arms of the opposing Death Eaters. The other Death Eater sneered.

"Should we kill them and take the card?" he asked, reaching into his robes, obviously going for a wand. The man that had spoken before, however, put a hand on his arm, stopping him.

"No, we were told that you have to earn a god," he pointed out. "This one we'll have to duel."

Yami Bakura let out a rude sounding snort. "Whab am I? Chobbed liber? You'll habe to geb drough me doo."

Marik sweatdropped. Under normal circumstances, he would not have minded a team duel with the tomb robber on his side. However, with that cold, it was next to impossible to take him seriously.

The four opponents – two on one side, two on the other – separated a safe distance before sending out the miniature holographic generators that would make their monsters come to life. Marik tossed a glance toward Yami Bakura; he did trust the tomb robber – reluctantly, yes, but he did trust him – but he did not know if the feeling was mutual. The spirit noticed him looking at him, and gave him a thumbs up.

Well, that solved his problem.

_"Duel!"_

-.oOOo.-

Seto grit his teeth against the pain in his arm, taking a step back as three Death Eaters approached him from behind the destroyed wall. He probably could fight the crowd of them off, but with his injured arm he would be much slower than normal, and it was possible they could kill him with a magic spell before he could take care of them. He took another step back, looking down to make sure his Duel Disk was still okay. It was a little banged up, but it was still operable.

"Give us Obelisk," one of the Death Eaters demanded suddenly, "and we'll spare your life."

Seto gave him one of his "I'm better than you and you know it" sneers. "Sorry, I don't trade with anyone."

Another of the Death Eaters whipped out his wand. "Think you're really smart, hunh, kid? I'll wipe that smirk off your face!"

_"Stupify!"_

Before the man could even move his wand an inch, a blast of magic hit him squarely in the chest. He dropped quicker than a brick just as a raspberry tipped spike came into Seto's line of vision. The CEO looked down in surprise to see Yugi standing before him, his wand out defensively. A soft inquiry on how he felt came from behind him, and he turned around surprised to see the koinu's sister – whatever her name was. He nodded briefly before focusing back on Yugi.

"What are you doing?" he hissed. "You're going to get yourself expelled."

"Given the circumstances, I think they'll forgive me for using magic outside of school," the shorter boy replied, not taking his eyes off of the remaining two Death Eaters. One of them just laughed.

"Wonderful! The holder of Osiris decides to save us some trouble," he sneered. "Listen kids, give us your God Cards now."

"Over my dead body!" Yugi snapped back, uncharacteristically.

"That can be arranged," the other Death Eater replied, reaching into his robes for his wand. The piece of wood never made it out, however, as suddenly the two of them were pushed against the remains of the wall by an unseen force.

"Baka," came the voice of Yami Yugi, who had somehow managed the switch places with Yugi quicker than a blink. "To possess a God Card is to earn the right to do so, not take it by force."

The Death Eater that had threatened them with their deaths snarled as he straightened himself out, the glare on his face obvious even through the mask. He pushed back the long sleeve of his cloak on his left arm to reveal a strangely colored Duel Disk. The two panels on either side of the central disk snapped together before the holographic generators shot out. The other Death Eater walked a short distance away from his partner before doing the same.

Seto and Yami Yugi soon followed suit, easily accepting the fact that they were playing a card game to save their lives; they had done it so often before, after all. Yami Yugi prepped his Duel Disk without a problem; Seto, however, was a different story. As soon as he tried to lift his bad arm to press the release on his holographic pods, a searing pain shot through his entire body, making him wince and grip his arm in pain. There was no denying it; his arm was definitely broken.

"Seto-kun, daijobou?" Yami Yugi whispered, concern clearly etched on his face.

"I'm fine," Seto growled, somehow mustering the strength to reach up and release the generators.

_Hikari…_ came the concern voice of the high priest in his head. _Are you sure you don't want me to take over? It'll be easier on your body if I'm in control. _

_No! Absolutely not!_ Seto snapped, another jolt of pain coursing through him as he reached over to take his five card starting hand. _I fight my own battles. You know better. _

Yami Seto grumbled something unintelligible, but remained silent. Of course, Seto was never going to admit how sorely tempted he was to take up his darker half's offer.

_"Duel!"_

-.oOOo.-

Draco grit his teeth as he and Jonouchi took up their five card starting hands, nervousness poisoning his body like a disease. He knew he had to use his new power as the owner of the Millennium Scale to make this duel a Yami-no-Game. How he knew how to do this, he could not understand. It was almost as if something deep within him imparted the knowledge unto him, shared with him the knowledge and wisdom of darkness without hesitation. Was that what it had been like for Yugi and the others, when they had first taken up their Items? He did not know, and was afraid to ask. Things in his life had been strange enough ever since he decided to let himself feel normal human compassion; he did not need anything else to be worried about.

"Well then, son of Malfoy," one of the Death Eaters sneered. "Shall you go first, or will you allow those of a higher standing than what you've sunk down to have the honor?"

Draco scowled, his nervousness chased away by the man's arrogance.

"There's just one condition left to be announced in this duel," he declared in a loud, clear voice. Jonouchi winced; oh boy, here it comes…

Both Death Eaters took a step back as a darkness spread out from behind Draco, seemingly coming from his backpack. The inky blackness swallowed all four duelists in its depths, cutting them off from the real world. The English boy reached into his backpack and pulled out the Millennium Scale before he tossed it up it to the air, the Item coming to a rest between the two sets of duelists. To finish his "final condition", Draco reached underneath his shirt and pulled out a golden-white feather – his feather, the feather of the goddess Ma'at. With a soft puff from between his lips, the feather drifted up, joining the Item above as it settled in one of the Scale's baskets.

"This duel shall be fought in Darkness," Draco declared, pointing up to his Item. "When you loose this match, the weight of your defeat will unbalance the Scale, calling the beast Ammit to feed on your souls."

As if to exemplify the point, a deep growling sound came from behind the Death Eaters, making the two grown men jump in fright. Draco smirked; apparently, no one warned them of what the Millennium Items could do. That meant more fun for him.

"Oh, looks like he's already here," he said idly, with the air of someone commenting on the weather. "Sounds a bit hungry too. Probably hasn't been fed in the last five thousand years."

Another deep growl came, almost sounding as if it were agreeing with him. The Death Eaters exchanged nervous looks, seeming like they were having second thoughts about the impending duel.

"Uh, Draco-kun," Jonouchi began, muttering out of the side of his mouth. "What happens if _we_ loose?"

Draco blinked a couple times. "I dunno. I didn't think about that."

Jonouchi sweatdropped, before falling over in mock death. He managed to get back to his feet, however, as the Death Eaters before them finally composed themselves.

_"Duel!"_

Draco Malfoy: 4000  
Katsuya Jonouchi: 4000

Death Eater 1: 4000  
Death Eater 2: 4000

"I'll take the first turn!" Draco announced, drawing a card and adding it to his hand. He grimaced; what was with him and getting nothing but magic cards lately? It happened in the last battle too, and it was getting a bit annoying. At least he still had one monster he could use. "Zombyra the Dark, sign of attack. End of turn!"

A human like creature in bone armor appeared before Draco, crossing its arms as it glared down at the two Death Eaters. One of the two men gulped, realizing that this monster was much more realistic than normal. Draco smirked; yet another thing no one told these men of. They were in for a shock when they were directly attacked for the first time.

The first Death Eater across from him set a monster in defense and ended his turn quickly, leaving Jonouchi to make his turn.

"I set two cards on the field!" he announced, setting two trap or magic cards in their respective slots. "And I summon Landstar no Kenshin, sign of attack. End turn!"

An adorable little swordsman appeared on Jonouchi's side of the field, in addition to the two cards he had set earlier. Draco mentally nodded; the older boy's Nightmare and Angel Dice combo was probably one of his most well known, which was why he always tried to pull it off first. Thankfully, the Death Eaters did not know that.

The second Death Eater drew his card and let it join the others in his hand, before he summoned a monster. This one, however, was much different from any Duel Monsters card any of them had ever seen. It was tall and serpentine, wielding a rapier in one hand as a forked tongue snaked out.

"Serpent Fencer, sign of attack! End of turn."

Both Draco and Jonouchi exchanged worried glances. This was going to be a lot harder than they thought…

-.oOOo.-

"I'll take the first turn! Draw!"

Marik looked down at his hand as he added his first drawn card of the match to his hand. His sister had been surprised when he said he was going to change his deck a few days before the start of this year's Battle City. It was mostly out of practicality than anything else; he had been using the same deck since long before the first tournament, and while he loved his old deck, he was getting much too predictable, as Yugi so kindly pointed out in their first year of school. Now he had a Gravekeeper themed deck, which had gotten a laugh out of all of the Egyptian spirits. The only problem was he had not had much of a chance to test his new deck; he could only hope that he had not made a mistake.

"I set one card on the field, and summon Gravekeeper's Assassin. End of turn!"

The cloaked assassin appeared before him, its knife glinting eerily in the light from the Dark Mark above, as well as a face down card. The Death Eater across from him sneered as he drew a card and placed it on the field in face down defense position before ending his turn.

"My turnb!" Yami Bakura declared. "Braw!"

Marik face-palmed, not willing to tell the tomb robber what it sounded like he said as he drew a card.

"I subbon Da Gross Ghost 'a Fled Dreams," the tomb robber announced, sniffing loudly as a bed with a person sleeping in it and a ghost hovering about it, sword and shield in hand, appeared. "Emb turnb!"

The second Death Eater across from Yami Bakura drew a card, and set that one in defense on the field like his partner had done. Marik declared his turn and drew, gritting his teeth as he did so. Two unknowns on their opponents' fields, and he had just drawn his Necrovalley card. While the card did give his Gravekeeper monsters a five hundred point attack boost (as well as enable some special abilities on his cards), it prevented monsters being removed from the graveyard, something that the tomb robber's dueling strategy depended on. After a moment of deliberation, he decided to wait on using it; it was still only the beginning of the duel.

"Gravekeeper's Assassin! Attack the face down card!" Marik ordered, pointing at the card of the Death Eater across from him. The Assassin raced forward, its knife arched in a position to slice the card in half. Before the monster could, however; an odd, serpentine monster came out of the card, bedecked in strong armor. The serpent repelled his monster, forcing it to return to his side of the field amongst a beeping sound from his Duel Disk. Marik looked down at the Life Point counter in shock as its value went down two hundred points.

Marik Ishitar: 3800  
Yami Bakura: 4000

Death Eater 1: 4000  
Death Eater 2: 4000

"Now, wait a minute!" Marik exclaimed. "Whaa…?"

"Whab da heck is dis!" Yami Bakura protested. "Dat ibn't a Buel Monsters card!"

Marik sweatdropped. "Tomb robber, don't talk."

Yami Bakura muttered something under his breath. Meanwhile, the first Death Eater smirked, looking at his fake monster proudly.

"Of course it's a Duel Monsters card," the man declared. "Though it's not made by Industrial Illusions."

"Den dat means it's not dournament legal!" Yami Bakura declared.

"Does it look like we care?" the other Death Eater asked.

"Oh, and by the way, most of our cards have effects," the first Death Eater sneered. "This one is a flip effect, allowing me to choose an opponents monster to return to his hand. And guess which one I choose?"

Marik gave the man a sour look, before taking his Gravekeeper's Assassin off of the field and returning it to his hand. At least he had not summoned a monster before, during his first main phase. He could still re-summon the assassin during his second main phase.

"Oh, and one other thing," the Death Eater cut in, almost as if reading his mind. "You can't summon your monster again until your next turn."

The Gravekeeper gave the man a bland look, before setting a monster in defense and ending his turn. This was going to be more difficult than he initially thought. The two of them were going up against cards they had no idea about, and could not even predict what they could do. Maybe if he could get his God of Ra out on the field, they would have a better chance, but a God needed three cards sacrificed in order to get it on the field. Marik and Yami Bakura exchanged worried looks. They were really going to have to hang on tight in this duel.

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi's narrow eyes looked about the field as he ended his turn, hiding his concern behind the usual poker face he had on while he was dueling. He had Kuriboh in defense along with Multiply set face down on the field. Seto only had Spear Dragon in attack position on his side of the field, though considering the dragon's ability to inflict damage even against a monster in defense, it made a good starting card.

The cards on the opposing side of the field, however, were another story entirely. Both Death Eaters had monsters on the field that neither of them had ever seen before. The first one, standing across the way from Seto, had a serpent creature he had called "Serpent Servant". It was an effect monster that inflicted a hundred points of Direct Damage to an opponent each turn it was on the field, something Seto had found out the hard way. The other Death Eater had what he had called a "Serpent Halberdier", and while the creature was a normal monster, it had an attack power of seventeen hundred. In addition to that, both of them had a trap or magic card set on their fields.

This was not good.

"It's my turn!" Seto declared, hiding a wince as he reached up to draw a card. "Draw!"

He blinked as he added the card to his hand, the pain in his arm causing his head to swim and his vision to swirl. He shook his head a bit, before continuing on with the duel.

"Spear Dragon!" he shouted. "Attack Serpent Servant!"

The blue Spear Dragon sprung to life, soaring toward the first Death Eater's monster and spearing the serpent with its long bill of a nose/mouth.

"Uncover card!" the Death Eater exclaimed. "Serpent Hell Pit!"

The card the man had set on the field flipped up, revealing a picture of a hellish pit full of serpents. In response, his dragon suddenly broke apart as it was sent to the graveyard.

"N-nani!" both Seto and Yami Yugi exclaimed.

The Death Eater smirked. "Ah, I hope you like my little trap card. See, when one of our Serpent monsters is attacked, I can halve the attacking monster's strength and increase my own life value by that removed. I win, you loose."

Seto Kaiba: 3350  
Yami Yugi: 4000

Death Eater 1: 4950  
Death Eater 2: 4000

Seto glared. "End… end turn."

Yami Yugi glanced over at him, the hitch in his breath hard not to notice. The taller boy's face was flushed and he was breathing heavy, and what was worse than that was that the pharaoh did not think Seto was even aware of it, much less acknowledging it.

_Mou hitori no boku,_ Yugi muttered in his mind, _is there any way that you can help him? _

_I don't think so, aibou,_ Yami Yugi replied. _There's only one person who can help him ease the pain, and you know it'll be a cold day in Khemet before that happens. _

Yugi sighed as the first Death Eater announced his turn and drew a card. A twisted sneer appeared on the man's face, before he slid a magic card into the proper slot.

"Activate ritual magic card!" the man announced. "Our Lord and Master!"

On the Death Eater's side of the field, a cauldron appeared, spewing poisonous green smoke and surrounded by two floor-based torches entwined with snakes. The man took two cards from his hand and held them up for the others to see.

"I offer these two level four monsters as sacrifice to summon Dark Serpent Lord!"

Seto and Yami Yugi took a step back in surprise. Shizuka screamed from where she was standing out of the line of fire. Something was rising slowly from the cauldron. Like the other serpent monsters, it was humanoid – tall and muscular – but held that serpentine look to it, especially in the face. The creature was swathed in darkly colored robes, with a blood red cape encircling its form. It held a wicked blade in its hand, with serpents slithering up and down the length.

The Death Eater chuckled. "Meet the second most powerful monster in our arsenal. Now, who will feel its twenty-nine hundred attack power?"

Seto grit his teeth; like it was really that hard to figure out?

The young CEO did not really know what happened next. One second, the Death Eater across from him was ordering his monster to attack him, and the next second his world exploded in a pain he never thought humanly possible…

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi did not even have a chance to activate Multiply when Dark Serpent Lord attacked Seto. The creature's sword hit the young man right in his injured arm. Simulated or not, that kind of pain sent right into his broken arm had to hurt like hell. Apparently, it made him reach his limit; as the monster went back to its side of the field, Seto managed to stay on his feet for a few minutes before he started to collapse.

"Seto-kun!"

Before Yami Yugi could get near Seto, it looked like he split in two. One half continued to fall, while the other more solid half reached out and caught him. Yami Seto's eyes narrowed dangerously as he held onto his lighter half tightly, the pain of their body's broken arm only a slight tingle for him.

"You fucking moron," he snarled. "You did that on purpose!"

The Death Eater just smirked easily. "So?"

That was obviously the wrong thing to say. Yami Seto's eyes seemed to darken as he glared at the man with the full intent to kill. He probably would have too, if not for the current circumstances. Seto disappeared from his arms as his other self put him away in his Soul Room.

"Pharaoh, take your turn, and make it count," the high priest all but ordered.

Yami Yugi nodded, understanding. "It's my turn!"

Yami Seto: 450  
Yami Yugi: 4000

Death Eater 1: 4950  
Death Eater 2: 4000


	4. You Wanted a God

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER FOUR – YOU WANTED A GOD…**

"Draw!"

Draco looked down at his hand as he added the new card, Breaker the Magical Warrior. So far, him and Jonouchi had been doing quite well in the duel, mostly because the Death Eaters nervousness over the possibility of being eaten had caused them to loose concentration. Jonouchi had already succeeded in pulling off his Nightmare and Angel Dice combo, much to the misfortune of the second Death Eater. While Draco had lost his Zombyra the Dark was well as his Destiny Board cards to the graveyard, he still had Magic Cylinder set on the field. In terms of damage he dealt to the other side, the second Death Eater's only monster on the field was equipped with Mask of the Accursed while first Death Eater had fallen into a trap he set with Wall of Illusion, and as a result had no monsters on the field.

"I summon Breaker the Magical Warrior, sign of attack!" he shouted, slapping the card for the red armored spellcaster onto his Duel Disk. The monster appeared from the depths of the Shadow Realm almost instantly, sword and shield at the ready. "Breaker has a special ability; when he is normal summoned, I can add a magic counter onto him to increase his power by three hundred."

A light went on under the panel that the card was on, indicating the counter that brought the monster's power up to nineteen hundred.

"Breaker the Magical Warrior! Directly attack that Death Eater!" Draco shouted, pointing to the first Death Eater. The man panicked a moment as the monster ran toward him, before screaming as the spellcaster's blade went right through him. Although the attack was largely illusionary, it still _felt _like it was real.

Draco Malfoy: 3800  
Katsuya Jonouchi: 3400

Death Eater 1: 1350  
Death Eater 2: 3200

The second Death Eater looked as his companion nervously. "Oui, Suichi, maybe we should get out of here…?"

The Death Eater glared at him. "Shut up; even if we could, where would we run to, you moron?" he demanded, before drawing a card. "Serpent Soldier, sign of attack! Destroy Wyvern no Senshi!"

Jonouchi brought his arms up to cover his face as the armored Serpent Soldier easily sliced through his Wyvern Soldier. The teen just smirked, however, as the monster returned to the Death Eater's side of the field.

"That was just a scratch!"

Draco Malfoy: 3800  
Katsuya Jonouchi: 3200

Death Eater 1: 1350  
Death Eater 2: 3200

"My turn now!" Jonouchi exclaimed, drawing from his deck, a huge grin spreading out on his face as he looked at the card he drew. Draco resisted the urge to sweatdrop; he had to have the worst game face he had ever seen. "You're gone now! Toki no Magician, sign of attack!"

Pocket watch with hands and feet was the best way to describe the monster Jonouchi summoned. Draco just stared at the odd little creature as it rose up, holding a little staff with a small clock on it. Instead of numbers, however, the clock had a handful of strange symbols mixed in with skulls. The hands on the clock staff were rotating rapidly, as if in some kind of strange roulette. Jonouchi was also staring up at that staff, though for a different reason than Draco.

"Not a skull… not a skull…" he prayed under his breath.

Draco looked down at him, giving him a strange look; what did he mean, "Not a skull"! Apparently, he was not going to get a chance to find out. The clock hands landed on one of the strange symbols, getting a whoop of triumph out of Jonouchi.

"All right! Toki no Magician, Time Magic!"

The little Time Magician responded immediately, waving its staff. Suddenly, the whole of the Death Eaters sides of the field seemed to be sucked into the light of a time vortex. The serpent creatures the two of them were commanding withered away with age right before their eyes. When the light dimmed, nothing was left of the creatures but empty husks of armor.

"It's still my turn," Jonouchi announced, holding up a card, "and I play the magic card Dead Alive to summon my Wyvern no Senshi back from the grave!"

An ankh appeared on his side of the field, only to slowly dissolve back into the Wyvern Soldier he had lost previously.

"Wyvern no Senshi, directly attack the Death Eater!"

The first Death Eater shouted out in surprise as the warrior class card attacked him, loosing his balance and falling to the ground. Up above, the Millennium Scale rotated so the empty basket was pointing toward the fallen dark wizard. The basket teetered a moment, before dropping down.

"It's game over for you!" Draco declared. The Death Eater's head came up in surprise at the announcement, fright written clearly on his face.

Draco Malfoy: 3800  
Katsuya Jonouchi: 3200

Death Eater 1: 0  
Death Eater 2: 3200

The second Death Eater watch in horror as, without warning, a set of alligator-like jaws came up from the floor and engulfed his companion. The jaws descended into the darkness once more, not even leaving a scrap of clothing behind. The remaining Death Eater stood in his position for a long moment, trembling from head to foot, before he crumpled to the ground, passed out cold. Both Jonouchi and Draco sweatdropped.

"He fainted…" Draco said, disbelieving.

"That ain't right…" Jonouchi replied.

An annoyed grumbling came from deep within the shadows; apparently, Ammit was not too thrilled about that either.

"Sorry, Ammit," Draco apologized, shrugging his shoulders. "At least you got one body out of the deal."

The young wizard reaching out a hand for the Millennium Scale, and the Item floated down to him, dispelling the Shadow Realm as it did so. Once the Scale was safely returned in his backpack, he went over to the passed out Death Eater and rummaged through his pockets. Jonouchi crossed his arms, frowning.

"You know, I don't think he has a Puzzle Card on him," he said.

"That's not what I'm looking for," Draco replied, reaching into the man's inner robe pocket before pulling out a long stick of wood. He snapped the wand into pieces and tossed them to the ground, grinding them under foot for good measure.

"C'mon, let's go find the others," he said as he turned back to Jonouchi.

-.oOOo.-

Marik and Yami Bakura's eyes both seemed to widen to the point where that was the only thing on their face as they started down at the ground. When the second Death Eater said he was activating a field magic card called Land of Snakes, he was not kidding; the entire ground had been covered with electronic snakes… slithering, writhing snakes. Yami Bakura teetered where he stood, and Marik shot him a concerned look.

"You okay, tomb robber?"

Yami Bakura's eyes never strayed from the ground. "Imb my time imb Khemet, da most bobular trab imb dombs was a snake bit… any domb robber's worst fear w's fallin' into a deep, dark hole… and den, someding scaly crawling ub you…"

Marik sweatdropped as a violent shudder went through the tomb robber's whole body.

"Pull yourself together, Indiana…" he muttered under his breath. "We have more important things to worry about."

Yami Bakura attempted to glare, but given his current state of being sick and half scared out of his mind, it did not work out too well. Though, he had to admit, they did have more important things to worry about. On the first Death Eaters side of the field was a monster he had called Serpent Lord. While the monster normally had twenty-three hundred attack, it had a special effect that enabled it to receive an additional two hundred points of attack for each monster with "Serpent" in its name on the field. Of course, considering that the two of them had nothing but monsters named "Serpent" something, that made it a major problem. The second Death Eater, while he did not have any monsters on the field at the moment, the field magic card he just laid down increased the attack and defense of monsters with "Serpent" in their name by five hundred points.

On their side of the field, Yami Bakura had his Dark Necrophilia in defense mode, having used a Book of the Moon card to switch it to that position when the Serpent Lord had come out. Marik had Gravekeeper's Spy in defense mode as well as Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier in attack, both of which were only still there because he had had a Waboku card set that saved him. The Gravekeeper also had another card set face down, but Yami Bakura could not even guess what it was.

"I choose to end my turn now," the second Death Eater announced, a cocky smirk on his face. Marik fought the urge to roll his eyes. Of course the man was not going to summon anything; he had no need to. Neither of them were stupid enough to summon a low attack monster, only to have it destroyed by the Serpent Lord.

"It's my turn!" he announced.

Marik Ishitar: 2500  
Yami Bakura: 1200

Death Eater 1: 3400  
Death Eater 2: 3000

Marik bit his lip as he put a hand on the top card of his deck. If ever there was a time he needed his God Card, it was now…

"Draw!"

Marik's expression did not change as he looked upon his new card, and the Death Eaters snickered, taunting the Gravekeeper. Yami Bakura knew better than they did, however…

"I summon another Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier," Marik announced as the Gravekeeper card appeared on his side of the field. "I also reverse the trap card, Ultimate Offering!"

The trap card he had set on the field previously flipped over, revealing the Ultimate Offering card. Yami Bakura smirked; he had to admit, that was a good move.

"At the expense of five hundred of my own Life Points," Marik continued, holding up the card he drew previously, "I can summon another monster of my choosing."

The wind suddenly picked up, swirling around Marik, as if the God was anticipating its own arrival to the battle. The Death Eaters took a step back; they were obviously new to the dueling scene, but they were smart enough to realize exactly what he was doing.

"Two Gravekeeper's Spear Soldiers and Gravekeeper's Spy; offered as sacrifice to summon God of Sun Dragon, Ra!"

Total silence reigned as the monsters on Marik's side of the field disappeared into a flurry of golden sparkles. For a moment, it looked like nothing was going to happen, when suddenly rays of light broke through the clouds overhead. There was a burst of light, and the clouds dispersed as a miniature sun descended from the heavens. Marik crossed his arms over his chest and spoke in Hieratic the prayer to unlock the full power of the God Card. There was the grinding of metal on metal, and wings came forth from the sun above, followed shortly by claws, tail, and head as the God of Sun Dragon slowly stretched itself out. The God settled down behind Marik, glaring down at the two opposing Death Eaters.

"Kami-sama's attack and defense is dependant on the monsters sacrificed to summon it," Marik explained. "Of course, that means Ra's attack is at forty-two hundred."

The God above let out a mighty roar at that, as if to exemplify the point.

"Ra no Yoku Shin Ryuu, attack Serpent Lord!" he shouted. "Holy Inferno Flames!"

The God of Ra opening its beak-like mouth, and for a moment, a large flame swirled to life there before the God let loose the full power of the attack on the first Death Eater's monster. The serpent creature seemed to melt where it stood, before disappearing into electronic nothingness.

Marik Ishitar: 2000  
Yami Bakura: 1200

Death Eater 1: 2000  
Death Eater 2: 3000

Both Death Eaters were shaking as Marik ended his turn. The first announced his turn and drew a card, and ended up setting whatever he drew in face down defense position before concluding his turn. Yami Bakura smirked as he announced his turn and drew, making sure he held up the Duel Disk so he would not have to look down. He glanced over to the second Death Eater, whose face had drained of all color.

"Don' dink I forgot about youb," he announced. "Nob do cocky now, eh? I subbon Dragon Zombie, sign ob addack, and I change Dark Necrobillia to addack mobe."

The tomb robber whooped in triumph as he ordered both of his monsters to attack. The combined might of the two monsters easily put the second Death Eater and his field card out of the fight, much to Yami Bakura's relief.

Marik Ishitar: 2000  
Yami Bakura: 1200

Death Eater 1: 2000  
Death Eater 2: 0

"Because your partner is unable to continue, the next turn goes to me," Marik announced, drawing a card. "I summon Gravekeeper's Assassin. Assassin, attack the face down card!"

The assassin's knife lanced out, slicing through the Death Eater's defense position monster. A Serpent Soldier appeared briefly before it disappeared into the graveyard. With barely a word from Marik, Ra's attack came next, scorching the dark wizard where he stood. When the half electronic, half real flames disappeared, the Death Eater was on his back, unconscious.

Marik Ishitar: 2000  
Yami Bakura: 1200

Death Eater 1: 0  
Death Eater 2: 0

Marik and Yami Bakura whooped in triumph as their monsters disappeared before turning to give each other a high five. In the meantime, the second Death Eater went over to his companion and tried to get him to wake up, with no luck. Growling under his breath, the Death Eater stood and took out his wand, the action getting the two boys attention.

"I'll be taking that God Card, regardless!" he announced. "Avada—"

_"Stupify!" _

Both tomb robber and Gravekeeper blinked as the Death Eater hit the ground unconscious, revealing the old man they had met before arriving at their current point.

"You muggles, you should listen to your elders," the old man tisked, raising his wand as if to perform a memory charm. Marik stamped his foot, annoyed.

"Okay! Just because we left our wands at home _does not_ make us muggles!"

The old man looked like he was going to have a heart attack.

-.oOOo.-

Yami Seto winced as the Dark Serpent Lord destroyed one of his Blue Eyes White Dragons. In the turn following his appearance, he was miraculously able to pull off his hikari's Lord of Dragon combo, in which he summoned the effect card Lord of Dragon and then special summoned all three Blue Eyes onto the field by using two Dragon Summoning Flutes. Unfortunately, the first Death Eater had countered that by equipping his monster with the Rod of Snakes, a magic card that he said increased the monster's attack by two hundred points as well as something else. What that "something else" was, however, he did not say.

"I set one card on the field," the first Death Eater announced, "and end my turn."

Yami Seto: 350  
Yami Yugi: 2800

Death Eater 1: 4000  
Death Eater 2: 3800

"It's my turn. Draw!" Yami Yugi announced, drawing a card as he gazed out on the monster on his side of the field.

The only reason his Black Magician had survived this long was because the Death Eaters were too concentrated on picking Yami Seto off first. This fact had enabled him to take some pot shots at them, but it was only a matter of time before they got annoyed with that and start focusing more serious power his way, instead of the effects of monsters they had throw at him until this point. He looked down to the card he just drew and smirked as he set it on the field, before turning his gaze to the second Death Eater; he had a Serpent Soldier on the field and a Serpent Guardian, a flip effect monster he had flipped over himself, and failed to return it to defense position.

"Black Magician, attack Serpent Guardian!" he shouted. "Black Magic!"

The second Death Eater shielded his eyes as the Black Magician's attack easily blew away the serpent monster. The man glared at the pharaoh as the magician returned to his side of the field.

"That will teach you not to leave yourself wide open," Yami Yugi said with a smirk. "End turn!"

Yami Seto: 350  
Yami Yugi: 2800

Death Eater 1: 4000  
Death Eater 2: 2300

"Little brat," the Death Eater snarled as he drew a card. "I'll wipe that smirk off your face. I sacrifice Serpent Soldier to summon Serpent Scorpion Rider!"

The Serpent Soldier disappeared, only to soon be replaced by a serpent creature atop a scorpion. The scorpion snapped its claws in anticipation, knowing its two thousand attack points was about to put someone out of the fight.

"Reverse trap card!" the first Death Eater exclaimed, surprising both spirits. "My Hand in Yours."

Yami Seto blinked, a dull look on his face as the trap card swung up, showing a picture of two hands clasped together.

"And what, pray tell, does this one do?" he asked in a deadpan voice.

The Death Eater smiled almost pleasantly, though the high priest was reminded of a cat that cornered its prey.

"Oh, nothing much," he answered. "Just when my partner sacrifice summons a monster, it enables me to special summon a monster of the same level from my hand."

Yami Seto frowned as yet another Serpent Scorpion Rider appeared on the first Death Eater's side of the field. This was not right; he hoped that Pegasus person did not take notes from these people.

"This applies to the whole field, by the way, including your side," the second Death Eater cut in. "Though, you won't get a chance to use it, as I see a Lord of Dragon still in attack position."

Yami Seto grit his teeth before putting an arm up to shield himself from the impending attack. It never came, however, and after a moment, the high priest got up enough courage to look. He sweatdropped in embarrassment, seeing that the monster had been stopped cold by a giant Hexing Circle. A quick glace over at the pharaoh's side of the field confirmed that.

The Death Eater growled under his breath, before slipping in a magic card.

"I activate the quick magic card, Dark Mark!" he announced. "This destroys any monster I choose in addition to forcing the owner to discard a card from hand."

Yami Seto gave the Death Eater another dull look as his Lord of Dragon was sent to the graveyard. After it disappeared, he discarded his Crush Card, knowing as it was he was not going to get a chance to use it.

"End turn!"

The high priest announced his turn before drawing a card… and cursed under his breath. Of course, _now _he got Obelisk in his hand. A lot of good it would do him now; even if he had Ultimate Offering active on the field, he still could not summon, as he did not even have four hundred Life Points left.

"You know, priest," Yami Yugi muttered softly. "The team players in a duel like this are called 'partners' for a reason. Partners share things with one another."

Yami Seto looked at the pharaoh like he grew another head. Was he offering to let him use his Black Magician in order to get the God onto the field? That would mean that Yami Yugi would be wide open to attack from the first Death Eater… unless…

The high priest's mouth twisted up into a smirk. "Arigatou, pharaoh. I always wanted to know what it was like for you to summon one of these…"

Yami Yugi tossed him his own smirk, as well as a thumbs up. Yami Seto held up his God Card.

"I offer my two Blue Eyes White Dragons, and my partner's Black Magician, as sacrifice to summon God of the Stone Tower, Obelisk!"

The three monsters disappeared in a collection of blue sparkles, and a blue light from above shot down, engulfing the high priest in its light. He turned his head slightly and watched in awe as the God, Obelisk, appeared from within the light. So this was what it was like to summon a true God… it was just… unreal.

Yami Yugi chuckled slightly at his priest's reaction, before reaching for one of his cards. "By your own card, I can also summon a monster of the same level from my hand."

The Death Eaters just stared in utter horror as the serpentine red dragon, Osiris, descended from a thunder-filled sky to settle next to Obelisk.

"Your defeat is at hand!" Yami Seto declared. "Obelisk! Attack Serpent Scorpion Rider! God Hand Crusher!"

Obelisk's mighty fist descended down on the second Death Eater's helpless Serpent Scorpion Rider. The monster's attack power had already been reduced because of Yami Yugi's Hexing Circle, and that effect helped in putting the Death Eater out of the fight.

Yami Seto: 350  
Yami Yugi: 2800

Death Eater 1: 4000  
Death Eater 2: 0

When the dust from the God Card's attack cleared, the second Death Eater was passed out cold on the ground. The remaining Death Eater looked down at his partner nervously, before switching his two monsters to defense position and ending his turn, hoping that the two defending monsters would give him some time to think.

Yami Yugi was going to make sure he was not going to get much of a chance.

"Osiris!" he shouted. "Attack Dark Serpent Lord! Thunder Force!"

The once terrifying Dark Serpent Lord disappeared in a flash, thanks to the Saint Dragon. Yami Yugi tossed the high priest another smirk, giving him the go ahead to finish the Death Eater off. Yami Seto was more than happy to take the last turn, drawing his final card.

"I activate the magic card, Dead Alive!" he announced. "Blue Eyes, back to the battlefield!"

The high priest took his Blue Eyes White Dragon from the graveyard – making sure that it was the one the Death Eater had destroyed previously – and returned it to his field next to Obelisk. He narrowed his eyes at the dark wizard, who was trembling where he stood.

"I'm not fond of those who hurt the ones I care about," he said in a murderous tone. "Blue Eyes! Attack his Serpent Scorpion Rider! Burst Stream!"

The Blue Eyes White Dragon opened its jaws wide, unleashing the full thunderous power of its Burst Stream attack on the Death Eater's final monster. The man fell to his knees as his monster disappeared into the graveyard, staring up at the inevitable.

"Obelisk! Directly attack the player! God Hand Crusher!"

The God's fist came down once more, and it was not long before the final Death Eater joined his partner in unconsciousness.

Yami Seto: 350  
Yami Yugi: 2800

Death Eater 1: 0  
Death Eater 2: 0

_You know, for all your cheeriness, you're a bitch when you're angry… _

Yami Seto jumped at the voice in his mind, surprised to hear it. _Hikari! How are you feeling? _

Seto mentally grunted. _Like shit. _

The high priest just chuckled. _I guess that means I get to stay in control for a while. _

Seto grunted again before falling silent. Yami Seto turned his attention back to the real world again just in time to see the pharaoh snapping the wands of all three Death Eaters.

"We should get out of here before they wake up," Shizuka said, making the high priest jump. She had been so quiet throughout the whole duel, he forgot she was there.

"Good idea, but… now what?" Yami Yugi asked. "Where do we go? What do we do? There are obviously more of them out there. We can't just duel against each and every one of them."

Yami Seto crossed his arms – a sharp tingling reminding him that one of those arms was broken – and a thoughtful look came to his face. He remained liked this for a good minute, before a slow smirk appeared.

"Pharaoh… how good are you at riding a bike?"

Yami Yugi just blinked.


	5. Getting Rid of Death Eaters

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER FIVE – GETTING RID OF DEATH EATERS**

In a few short hours, Battle City had been brought to a screeching halt. Duelists that had once roamed the streets in their hunt for Puzzle Cards were long gone, having sought out shelter in buildings far away from the dreaded Dark Mark hovering in the center of town. Only the police and the Death Eaters roamed the city, the former trying vainly to repress the later as they searched for their objective: the God Cards.

Two of the Death Eaters arrived at the site just below the Dark Mark, where Marik and Yami Bakura had dueled, though there were no traces of their game. One lifted his death's head mask slightly to wipe sweat off of his brow, before turning to his companion.

"Any word from Suichi and Takahiro?" he asked, only to get a negative shake from his companion. "What about the Hiroushi triplets? Or anyone else for that matter?"

His companion sighed. "For the last time, no one has seen anything of the God Cards. And if they did, they haven't reported in yet."

The Death Eater kicked at a rock, before sitting down on a small boulder. "This is so stupid! How's a card game supposed to help Voldemort-sama re-assume control?"

"Look, I don't understand it, either," the other Death Eater replied tersely. "But if that rat, Pettigrew, says it will ensure Voldemort-sama total victory, then –"

Being born of pure blood wizard families, neither Death Eater knew what an accelerating motorcycle sounded like. It was a sound the two of them would never forget again, however, as two blue and white bikes branded with the Kaiba Corporation logo practically fell on top of them.

Yami Seto did not give the Death Eaters they almost ran over a second thought as he scanned the area, looking for any trace of their friends. After their duel, him and the pharaoh had made a quick detour to Kaiba Corporation Headquarters, dropping off Shizuka where she would be safe and also getting updated on the situation. Naturally, it was not good; and after giving Yami Yugi a crash course on how to ride a motorcycle, they set out to see how they could at least find and/or rescue their friends.

"Otouto," he said into the microphone built into his helmet, "there's no sign that Marik or Bakura were ever here. Are you sure you got those coordinates right?"

"Positive, mou hitori no onii-sama," Mokuba replied. "I've been trying to track their movements since their Duel Disks activated, but there's been no sign of them since."

"Is it possible their Disks were damaged?" Yami Yugi's voice came over the line.

"Possible, but not likely it could get _that_ damaged," Mokuba answered. "The tracer is built right into the core of the Duel Disk. It would take a pretty hard hit to…" He trailed off a moment, before his voice came back excitedly, "Mou hitori no onii-sama! Draco-kun and Jonouchi-kun's Duel Disks have just been activated!"

"Where!" Yami Yugi and Yami Seto exclaimed at the same time.

"Just south of you, on South Main Street!"

Pharaoh and high priest turned their bikes as one, aiming for a sharp slope that the two of them fully intended to use as a ramp. The two spirits shot up into the air, sailing majestically, before falling nearly right on top of an impending four-on-two duel. The Death Eaters scattered, trying vainly to figure out what was going on as the two spirits skidded to a halt.

"All aboard," Yami Seto announced, flipping up the visor of his helmet so Jonouchi and Draco could see who was rescuing them. "Puppies and chibi wizards now permitted."

The two of them were so grateful to be rescued, that they ignored the jibe as Jonouchi leapt astride Yami Seto's motorcycle while Draco climbed onto Yami Yugi's. They set off almost immediately, not giving the two extra riders a chance to put on helmets as they roared off. The Death Eaters behind them recovered, and started shooting off various spells at the two bikes.

"Grab the other handle!" Yami Yugi shouted back to Draco, taking his hand off of one of the motorcycle's handles. The young wizard grabbed it to keep the bike steady as the pharaoh reached into his jacket and pulled out his wand, swinging around so his arm was propped along Draco's back and the young man's head was poking out under his arm to keep an eye on the road ahead.

_Aibou, quick, feed me a spell. _

_Um… _

In the next instant, a burst of magic exploded from the wand, hitting a couple of the Death Eaters head-on. Yami Yugi watched for a moment as tentacles started to grow out of the men's faces, before he swung around to take control of the bike again.

_Good one, koibito. _

Yugi giggled in response.

Meanwhile, on the other motorcycle, Jonouchi was clinging onto Yami Seto for dear life, not comfortable with the speed the high priest was going at. Sure he had ridden as a passenger on a 'cycle before, thanks to Honda, but his friend always went the speed limit. The high priest, however, felt like he was going three times that limit, which was three times too much for his stomach.

"Hang on, Jou!"

That was the only warning Jonouchi got as Yami Seto used an overturned car as a ramp to launch the two of them into the air. They landed on the ground again roughly, and Jonouchi could not help but whimper like the dog Seto claimed him to be as he hung on tighter to the high priest.

"Jou-kun, if you're going to throw up, aim down wind!" Yami Seto shouted back to him.

Jonouchi squeezed his eyes shut. "Just stop the bike…"

Yami Seto rolled his eyes before signaling to the pharaoh behind them. The two bikes slowly came to a stop, after which Jonouchi leapt off and over to a nearby garbage can. Both spirits pulled off their helmets while stretching their legs, getting used to standing again after riding for so long. Draco stretched his arms above his head, before shutting off his Duel Disk, letting the two panels fold up on either side.

"Thanks for coming for us, guys," he said. "Any word from Marik or Bakura?"

"No to both," Yami Yugi replied, using a hand to attempt to get his hair standing back up.

"What about the Death Eaters?" Draco continued. "How are we going to get them out of this city?"

"We're still trying to –"

A beeping sound came from the radio built into the "Battle City Trench", cutting the high priest off. He sighed, before turning the communicator on.

"Yo, what's up?"

Mokuba's voice came back over the little unit. "Mou hitori no onii-sama, those strange signals are coming from the lab near the house."

Yami Seto gave a start. _"What! _How'd they get out that far?"

"I don't know," Mokuba replied, "but they did."

"Wonderful…" the high priest muttered. "Warn the security staff, and have someone lock down the area. I'm going to be there shortly."

"Okay, mou hitori no onii-sama."

Jonouchi came up behind the high priest, wiping his mouth off, as Yami Seto started to strap his helmet back on.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"That's what the rest of us would like to know," Yami Yugi added, frowning. "What's the big deal about the lab by your… 'house', and why do you have to go there right away?"

Yami Seto paused a moment, looking like he was mentally discussing it with his hikari, before he shook his head. He jumped astride his bike, starting up the engine again before looking up at Yami Yugi.

"I'm sorry, pharaoh, but it's a personal thing between me, my hikari, and Moki," he said.

"Seto –"

"Pharaoh, you know I show you nothing but the utmost respect, right?" the high priest asked, to which Yami Yugi nodded. "And you know I'd never make the same mistake I made in the past, right?" Yami Yugi responded with another nod. "Then trust me when I say that I need to do this alone."

With that said, Yami Seto flipped down his helmet visor and gave the others a moment to back away before roaring off down the street. The pharaoh stood there with his two friends for a good minute, before walking over to the motorcycle he borrowed and leapt astride.

"Where are you going?" Draco asked as Yami Yugi started fitting his helmet over his head again.

"Where else?" the pharaoh replied, before using his chin to turn on his communicator in his helmet. "Mokuba, where's that lab you were telling your brother about?"

"Hunh?" Mokuba's confused voice came back over the unit. "Why?"

Yami Yugi was silent for a moment, considering his answer, before he replied, "Because, your brother isn't just my high priest… he's one of my best friends too. Friends stick together; however personal what he's doing is, I'm not going to let him go it alone."

Mokuba was quiet for so long, the pharaoh was afraid he had left the line. Afterwards, the young Kaiba's voice sounded a little choked up when he got back on the line.

"Yeah… yeah, okay. I can send the directions right to your bike's computer console."

-.oOOo.-

The wind snapped at him as Yami Seto drove down the deserted highway at an insanely high speed, crossing stretches of road in seconds, when normally it would have taken hours with traffic. Along the way, he caught sight of a handful of Death Eaters, but only one had the nerve to send a blast toward him. None of the others were able to put two and two together and realize that a young man in a white trench coat riding on a motorcycle with a big "KC" on the side might just be Seto Kaiba.

_Don't worry, hikari,_ he said mentally, _we're almost there._

_I know,_ Seto replied, though he sounded more nervous than annoyed at him.

_Aibou,_ Yami Seto began. He felt a twinge of annoyance then, but he ignored it. _I'm sure they won't damage anything. And if they do, I'll separate from you so I can kill every single last one of them, and not bloody your hands. _

Seto was quiet for a long moment. It was not until the lab in question was in sight did he mutter quietly, _No… you wouldn't have to worry about that… _

Yami Seto frowned deeply, before prodding his hikari's mind gently, trying to figure out what he had meant by that. As usual, however, he found himself being blocked by the mental barrier Seto had unconsciously set up over the many years he spent as a cold as ice businessman.

Yami Seto turned off on the dirt road that led up to the private lab, ignoring the large "Private Property: Do Not Enter" sign at the entrance. He winced as rocks and small twigs flew up and hit him in the legs and chest, but he ignored it as the main gates to the lab were quickly approaching. Taking one hand off the handlebars, he pressed a button on the bike's computer console, sending out a signal that opened the lab's front gate and allowed him to drive through. He slowed down as he approached the front entrance, and once he stopped he kicked the bar down and raced to the glass double doors.

The sight that awaited the high priest within was not one that he wanted to see. Scientists and security staff alike where sprawled on the floor, each and every one of them dead, though there was not a mark on any of their bodies. Yami Seto took the Millennium Rod from its hiding space before making his way though the hallways lined with experiment centers of his hikari's fallen staff.

_Over two hundred staff members… You know this is a trap, right?_ Seto asked.

_Yeah, I figured,_ Yami Seto replied sourly. _Do you know what they could use the God Cards for? I mean, other than the obvious "Taking Over the World" kinda thing. _

_I'm not even going to dignify that with a response… _

_Very funny,_ the high priest replied. _How would they use them? Only a chosen person can wield a God Card, right? Or did the rules change in the five thousand years I was sleeping. _

_I don't know,_ Seto replied with a sigh. _I'm not the one to ask. Just get to the main lab and make sure everything is still all right. _

_You got it,_ Yami Seto said, spotting his hikari's private elevator. He made a break for it, though it turned out he did not have to, as he still did not get attacked. Looking around once more, he entered the elevator using Seto's pass-code and sent it on its way down to the lower levels of the facility.

The high priest leaned against a wall, blowing out a sigh of relief. He drummed his fingers against the wall for a moment, before he asked, _So… what did you mean when you said your hands were already bloody? _

Seto's response was immediate. _It's none of your business; don't worry about it. _

Yami Seto sighed again, shaking his head sadly.

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi brought his borrowed motorcycle right up alongside Seto's, waiting until Jonouchi and Draco got off before dismounting himself and tossing off his helmet. The three of them raced up the steps of the lab, only to encounter the bodies of the once-living staff. Jonouchi made a face as Draco knelt down besides one of them to check for a pulse he knew he would not find.

"Avada Kedavra," the young wizard announced, looking pointedly at Yami Yugi. "The killing curse."

Yami Yugi's gaze hardened, while Jonouchi's adopted a comedic look of horror.

"K-k-k-k-k-killing curse!" he exclaimed. His eyes widened then. "Wait! That one guy…!"

The color completely drained from Jonouchi's face as Draco stood up again, still looking at the pharaoh.

"It's one of the Unforgivable Curses," he explained. "Also, its… its what killed Harry's parents."

Yami Yugi narrowed his eyes. "Then we should hurry and figure out where Seto-kun went."

-.oOOo.-

As soon as the elevator finally came to a stop, Yami Seto threw himself out and raced down the long and narrow corridor that led down to the most important lab in the facility. He burst through the double doors and came to a stop. Like with the rest of the place, the scientists and guards were dead, but by now he was not overly concerned with that at this point.

_How do I separate?_ Seto asked as Yami Seto climbed over bodies to get to the main computer console.

_What do you mean? _

_How do I separate from our body? _

Yami Seto paused a moment to spare a brief smile before replying, _Hold on, I'll help you. _

He closed his eyes, reaching out a hand to his waiting hikari. In the next moment, Seto was standing next to him, faded and washed out as the high priest himself usually was most of the time. The young man looked down at himself, observing that he could see though his chest with a sort of mix between shock and horror. Yami Seto just watched him, until his hikari looked up at him.

"You never get used to it," he said.

"It's not hard to see why," Seto agreed.

Yami Seto nodded, turning his attention back to the computer panel. "I'll check things from here. You go see how he's doing. And be careful; you can't be physically hurt in that form, but it still hurts, if you know what I mean."

Seto nodded, before heading off past the console and the sea of bodies – slightly disturbed that his feet were going right through them – to a large, thick tube in the center of the lab. The sound of typing suddenly flared up, thanks to this other self, but he ignored it as he stared at the tube and the shadow of the figure within. Hesitating a moment, he pressed a hand against the glass, letting it sink through to rest on the shoulder of the one in the tube.

"Everything's good on this end," Yami Seto announced suddenly. "The growth rate or anything else wasn't messed with, and he's still alive. Lets lock down this facility and get the hell –"

"No one is going anywhere."

Both Seto's nearly jumped out of their skin (never mind that one of them was already out of his skin) as they spun around to look at where they had entered, to see a crowd of Death Eaters making their way through the door. Two of the masked men were holding onto a bound and gagged Yami Yugi and Jonouchi; both had wands pointed at their throats; both looked less than a little pleased.

"What the hell are you two doing here!" both Seto's yelled at them at the same time. Jonouchi and Yami Yugi just glared.

One of the Death Eaters gestured to the Millennium Rod still in Yami Seto's hand. "Drop it."

The high priest uttered the foulest Egyptian curse he could think of before letting the Item fall to the metal floor and, upon another gesture from the man, kicked it away from himself. The Death Eater holding onto Yami Yugi smirked, pressing his wand closer to the pharaoh's throat.

"We already have Shorty's Kami-no-Cardo," he sneered, getting another glare out of Yami Yugi. "Give us yours, and you'll all leave this place with your lives."

The pharaoh growled around his gag, before stomping on the Death Eater's foot as hard as he could. The masked man wailed a moment, but he recovered quickly and backhanded Yami Yugi as punishment. He lost his balance and fell, hitting the floor rather painfully, and then quickly getting a kick to his ribs courtesy of the man he stomped. Yami Seto growled under his breath, but he could not do anything without risking any of them getting blasted.

"Last chance," the man continued, digging his heel into Yami Yugi's back. "Give us your Kami-no-Cardo, or you'll all die."

Yami Seto clenched his fists, gritting his teeth.

"Dammit, give it to them!"

The high priest turned to his hikari in surprise, not expecting him to even want to give up Obelisk for any reason. The young man was standing near the tube, clutching his fists in anger, obviously at war with his own mind and his own sense of ideals.

"Don't stare at me like a fish," Seto snarled. "Give them the damned card."

Yami Seto looked between his hikari, to the Death Eater, to his pharaoh – who was shaking his head emphatically. He let out another frustrated growl before reaching for his Duel Disk and taking out the deck him and his hikari shared.

He did not get a chance to shuffle through the deck in his search for Obelisk, however. There was a sudden flash of green and gold, and suddenly the two Death Eaters that were holding Yami Yugi and Jonouchi captive were on the ground, passed out cold thanks to a Millennium Scale to the skull.

Yami Seto did not waste a second after that; after shoving his deck back into his Duel Disk, he dived for where the Millennium Rod had fallen, using the confusion that Draco was causing to his advantage. Once the Item was back in his hand where it belonged, he tossed off the sheath for the dagger within and attacked the Death Eater nearest to him. The man went down with his mask in shreds and several nasty red streaks across his face.

The high priest was about to move on to the next unfortunate soul stupid enough to mess with him and his pharaoh, when a blast of magic exploded behind the Death Eaters, sending several of them scrambling for cover as several people – both young and old – dressed in wizard's robes burst through the doors. Chaos ensued afterwards, during which time Yami Seto gave up on trying to attack the Death Eaters and instead opted on getting his injured pharaoh and the confused Jonouchi out of the line of fire. Yami Seto quickly cut their bonds – Jonouchi being overly dramatic of it all – when he noticed Yami Yugi clutching at his chest and breathing heavily.

_His ribs might be broken. _

Yami Seto jumped and looked around; when had his hikari gone back into their body?

_You knew that Draco was going to attack those guys, right? _

_Yeah… _

The high priest mentally twapped his hikari, getting a yelp out of him.

_TELL ME THROUGH OUR MENTAL LINK NEXT TIME! _

"Anyone miss us?"

Yami Seto jumped for what had to be the umpteenth time that day, swiveling his head up to see one white-haired and one almost white-haired boys smiling overly huge smiles at them.

"Bakura!" Jonouchi exclaimed as Draco managed to pry himself from the fray and join them. "Your voice is normal!"

Yami Bakura breathed in through his nose deeply, letting the air out through his mouth. "Did you know," the tomb robber began, "that wizards have an instant cure for the flu?"

"I hope you took down the formula," Yami Seto replied tersely, holding onto Yami Yugi tightly as he took a shuddering breath.

"Oh, don't worry," Marik assured them. "He did."

Yami Bakura spared the Gravekeeper a light punch to the arm before nodding down to the pharaoh. "Is he going to be all right?"

Yami Yugi tilted his head slightly, looking as if he was feeling dizzy, before pointing to his chest and mouthing, "Ribs."

"What are they doing?" Draco asked, looking off at the scuffle ensuing before them between the loosing Death Eaters and the wizards that had appeared from seemingly nowhere. Both Yami Bakura and Marik grinned, almost looking like partners in crime.

"Well, after our very easy –" Marik began.

"Easy?" Yami Bakura asked. "Need I remind you? _Snakes!" _

"—Duel against the Death Eaters," he continued, not missing a beat, "we met up with this old man who turned out to be a wizard –"

"You know there's _seven_ magic schools in Japan alone?" the tomb robber cut in again. "The only reason we're going to Hogwarts is all seven of them have been and are booked until the next two decades."

_"Any_way," Marik began again, starting to get frustrated, "he took us to this country's Ministry of Magic, where we started a mass effort to either capture or drive out the Death Eater's from the city."

"How's it been going so far?" Jonouchi asked.

"Well, it's just these guys that are left that we can tell," Yami Bakura answered. "If there's any others, they should be leaving shortly."

Yami Seto almost dropped Yami Yugi. "Wait! Those guys have Osiris!"

Yami Yugi held up a finger, as if to say, "Wait a moment." He used his other hand to reach into his sleeve, before pulling out the card in question.

"Stole… back…" he managed to utter.

Yami Bakura grinned and laughed heartily. "Good job, pharaoh! There's hope for you yet!"

-.oOOo.-

Once the scuffle in the private lab was sorted out, the boys parted company with the wizards, leaving them to finish rounding up the remaining Death Eaters and getting the city back to some state of normalcy. The boys returned to Kaiba Corporation Headquarters, and from there went to the hospital to deal with Seto's still broken arm and Yugi's broken ribs. Unfortunately for him, the elder Kaiba had to sort out the deaths of the entire lab staff – including the writing of condolences to families – as soon as he managed to get away from the doctors (with his arm locked in cement, of course) long enough to do so.

Now he sat in Yugi's hospital room, typing on his laptop one-handed while keeping the shorter duelist company, as he had it the worst out of the two of them. Yugi was letting the rhythmic sound of Seto's rapid-fire finger pecking lull him to sleep, before something occurred to him. He sat up straight in bed, wincing a sharp pain throbbed in his chest.

"Seto-kun," he began, taking a moment to get his breath, "what is that lab for?"

Seto stopped dead in his typing, a sour look coming to his face. He looked up at Yugi for a moment – who had turned on the "puppy-eyes" to full blast, much his misfortune – back down to his laptop, then back at Yugi once again.

"I…" he began, before he sighed. "It was Mokuba's idea. Gonzaburo had promised him his own body. I felt that… well…"

Yugi folded his hands over his lap, waiting patiently to come out with it. Seto blew out another annoyed sigh.

"I know cloning is ethically wrong," he explained, "but the only way that Noah's personality and memories were to be successfully transferred from a computer program to a human being was if the brain of that human being was as close to the original as possible. I had to –"

Seto cut himself off as Yugi reached over and put a hand on his. The smaller duelist had a broad smile on his face.

"It's okay," Yugi assured him. "I understand. If that's the best thing for Noah to come back outside of a computer program, then you're doing the right thing."

Seto's shoulder slumped in relief. "Arigatou, Yugi-kun."

Yugi smiled again. "So, when's he going to be in a body again?"

The taller duelist leaned back in his chair, a thoughtful look on his face. "Well… if everything goes well – and we don't have a magic fight right in the middle of the lab again – he should be back to normal human form sometime around Christmas next year."

Yugi chuckled. "Just as long as the Americans never find out about this. You know how paranoid they can be, Seto-kun."

Seto chuckled. "Don't I know it, Yugi-kun."


	6. Where the Heart is

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER SIX – WHERE THE HEART IS**

"Panseru-_chaaaaaaaan!_ Stop tickling me!"

"Give me a good reason to, koibito."

"You got my ribs broken, remember? You're hurting me."

"Awww… Should I kiss it and make it feel better?"

Jonouchi's eyes widened to at least three times their normal size. His one fist was raised, poised to knock on the door to Yugi's hospital room, and his other hand was holding a large basket of chocolates and other candies. He blinked a few times, before turning around slowly to face Seto, Bakura, Marik, and Draco. Each boy had an expression on his face that ranged from, "Good God, not again," to "I did _not_ need to hear that."

"I think we should wait," Jonouchi suggested.

Seto just looked at him with a dull expression. "Really, pup; you think?"

Jonouchi stuck his tongue out at him in response as the five boys turned and started to make their way around the bend and back down the hallway.

"Well, at least they're feeling better," Draco said. "I mean… they're flirting with each other."

"Please, do keep reminding us of this, Draco-kun," Marik replied sourly.

Ryou groaned as the two started arguing with one another, when he spotted Yugi's mother coming down the hallway. He elbowed Marik in the back, the action causing the Gravekeeper to bump into Draco, which in turn caused the both of them to shut up. Mrs. Mutou frowned a bit, before smiling warmly.

"Good afternoon, boys," she greeted warmly. "I take it you're here to see my son?"

"Yes, ma'am, but he's sleeping at the moment," Seto lied smoothly. "I don't think he'd want to be disturbed."

"Now, Kaiba-san," she said, patronizingly. "I'm his mother. I don't think he'll mind me being there."

Mrs. Mutou pushed past the boys. Draco turned to protest, to do something to stop her, when he felt a hand snake its way over his mouth. He protested as loud as he could, but Mrs. Mutou could not hear him as she made her way around the bend on her way to Yugi's room. Once she was out of sight, he elbowed the person who grabbed him and spun around on him.

_"Why_ did you do that!" he snarled.

Yami Bakura smirked belligerently. "Because I haven't caused any havoc today."

The other boys sweatdropped, before nearly jumping a foot in the air as a shrill scream came from down the hallway. The tomb robber started laughing sadistically as two male screams followed.

Yami Bakura sighed happily. "My job for today is done."

The others hit the floor anime style in embarrassment.

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi stalked out of the hospital in the company of Jonouchi and the others, a giant red mark in the shape of a hand on his face and a bruise on his hand, looking like he was about two hairs short of strangling a certain white-haired tomb robber. Said tomb robber was nearly rolling on their way to Seto's limo, laughing so hard that tears were pouring out of his eyes and he had to hold onto Marik to walk straight. The pharaoh held onto his Puzzle, massaging one side with his thumb.

"I swear to Ra, tomb robber," he stated, "before this year is out, I _will_ make you pay for this…"

Yami Bakura took a few moments to gasp for breath, before responding, "You know what, pharaoh; I don't care! I would die a thousand times to see that look on your face once again when the shrimp's mom chased you out of the room!"

Yami Yugi just glared. "You'd be surprised what you could live through, tomb robber."

"Yeah, like you haven't threatened me with that before."

_"Children!"_ Seto shouted, massaging his temple. "Fight nice, please; you're giving the rest of us a headache."

Draco sighed. "Well, it's a good thing that you BS as well as you duel, Yami Yugi. At least we don't have to worry about telling Yugi's mum the truth just yet."

Seto stopped at that, spinning around to glare down at Yami Yugi. "My long lost cousin from Egypt visiting for the summer before joining us at school this year?"

Yami Yugi suddenly found his feet interesting at that. "It wasn't _that _far from the truth…"

Seto's eyebrow twitched. "You're about five thousand years off."

Suddenly, Yami Seto appeared at those words, leaning against his hikari with a casual air about him.

"Now, now, hikari-kun. Be nice," the high priest admonished. "Yugi's mother _obviously_ isn't going to let him stay there at the Game Shop. Panseru's family, and you _know_ that you can't leave family out in the cold."

Seto's eyebrow twitched again. "You've been watching those damned American kiddy cartoons of Mokuba's again, haven't you? I knew I should have burned those things… Next thing I know, you'll be preaching about 'ohana'."

Yami Seto grinned broadly – a smile reminiscent of the tomb robber – before grabbing his hikari in a playful little chokehold.

"C'mon, hikari!" he exclaimed as Seto thrashed, trying to get him off. "Look at it this way: Panseru's my cousin. You're technically me. Do the math from there."

With a grunt of effort, the young businessman tossed his other self off, dusting off his trench coat. He held up his hands in surrender.

"All right! All right! All right!" he exclaimed. "Besides, it's not like I don't have plenty of room." He whirled on Yami Yugi again. "I just have one rule: no summoning the Shadow Realm inside the house."

Yami Seto crept over to the pharaoh's side. "Notice he said _inside_ the house."

Yami Yugi sweatdropped while Seto growled under his breath. The young CEO proceeded to attempt to beat up his other self (only to have it backfire on him), as the pharaoh sighed half-heartedly. He wanted to be with his hikari as much as possible, spend time with him where it was just him and Yugi; but now thanks to that _idiot_ tomb robber, he had to wait until they got to Hogwarts again before that could happen. He was not joking; Yami Bakura was going to get it before the end of the year.

Yami Yugi rammed his hands into his pockets just as Seto got stuck in another chokehold. "Just lets get going, okay?" he asked. "The quicker the days go by that I'm away from my koibito, the better."

"Awwwww… poor pitiful pharaoh!" Yami Bakura mocked, making like he was all bleeding hearted. "Can't go within two inches of the shrimp without getting whapped by the frying pan of doom wielded by all mothers with eligible girls?"

"Tomb robber, you really do want to die again, don't you?"

Yami Bakura sniggered rather evilly. "Pharaoh, my only purpose is to make your life miserable. Thanks for letting me know I'm doing such a good job."

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi sat on the railing of the balcony that was attached to his room in the Kaiba Mansion, drumming his fingers against it in impatience. It was not that he was ungrateful that he could now materialize in an almost perfectly solid body, it was just that it led to problems like the one he was currently in. As his situation stood now, he could not go anywhere near the interior of the Kame Game Shop without Yugi's mother watching him like a hawk. Also, he could not go anywhere near _Yugi_ without his mother breaking out the claws. As much as he loved his aibou and respected his family, his mother could be a bitch sometimes.

That was not the only bad thing, of course. What made things really bad, was that he had no clothes of his own that really fit him. His outfits came from what Yugi wore; when Yugi wore something and Yami Yugi appeared within or outside of his body, the outfit automatically adjusted to him. As of late, however, he had been stuck for the most part in his own version of his hikari's school outfit – which he still wore even though he had not gone to Domino since his freshmen year let out – and it was bordering on the point of annoying.

He loved his hikari to death, but even he had to admit, he had _no_ taste when it came to clothing.

Of course, considering that Yami Yugi essentially had no clothes to wear now, he was stuck trying to borrow clothing from Seto and Mokuba. Yami Yugi was about five foot, one inch. Seto was exactly six foot, and Mokuba had grown to an impressive five foot, ten inches when he hit his teen years. Needless to say, borrowing clothing from them did not work for very long. That meant that he had to buy clothing, which meant Seto had to buy it for him because he had no money, which meant that he now owed Seto close to a hundred dollars, which meant he now had to get a job.

At this point, he came to the conclusion that no one hated Yami Bakura more than him.

The pharaoh stood up from his seat on the balcony and flopped onto the bed. The only comfort he had in all this was that Seto agreed to let him off just this once, and school was starting up again next week. Tomorrow, they were going to fly to London, where they would be getting their supplies from Diagon Alley as usual, and staying at the Leaky Cauldron until the time came where they would take the train at Platform Nine and Three Quarters to Hogwarts. Then, he could have all the alone time he wanted with his hikari… when they were not in class of course. Yami Yugi groaned, burying his head in a pillow; now that he thought about it, he really would not have that much alone time with him.

Suddenly, a clanking sound came from the balcony, making the pharaoh snap his head up. He blinked as he watched a crowbar attached to a rope slide along the balcony until it lodged itself into a corner. A soft grunting sound followed, and it was getting steadily louder, as if someone were climbing up the rope. Yami Yugi stared rather dumbly at the crowbar and rope for a moment, before springing into action when a raspberry tipped spike of black hair came into view.

"Aibou, what are you doing here!" he exclaimed, reaching over the side and helping Yugi up. "You shouldn't be going around breaking into people's mansions and climbing up their balconies! That's the tomb robber's job… no wait, edit to that: 'Especially people with broken ribs'!"

Yugi giggled, allowing himself to be picked up and carried over the railing. "Who do you think helped me get in here? And besides, it's been three weeks, and I'm not delicate."

Yami Yugi gave his lighter half and exasperated look as he cradled him in his arms, before giving up with a sigh and wrapping him in a hug.

"Ugh… koibito, you're going to be the death of me… again."

Yugi laughed, wrapping his arms around the pharaoh's neck and nuzzling his face into his shoulder. "I miss you. I'm sorry mom's acting the way she is. She's more annoyed that I didn't tell her I was seeing someone, not that I got a _boy_friend as apposed to a girlfriend."

"Well, that's a slight relief," Yami Yugi commented dryly, carrying him into the room and setting him down on the bed. "At least that means I'll be able to set foot in the house again."

Yugi pulled him down so he was sitting next to him. "We just have to be careful after school lets out this year," he cautioned, holding his hands. "It's going to be getting harder and harder, now that you're practically becoming your own person. I just hope that…"

Yami Yugi cupped his little one's face in his hand. "Koibito, I'll never leave you… well, not for someone else anyway. I didn't exactly have more of a choice a few weeks ago."

Yugi giggled again, throwing his arms around the pharaoh's neck. "I know, I know. I just hope that nothing bad happens to us. That we'll never have to…"

He trailed off at that, looking away. Yami Yugi frowned at his behavior.

"Aibou…?"

Yugi leaned toward his shoulder a bit, and the pharaoh pulled his hikari onto his lap so the two of them could be comfortable.

"I don't understand what's going on, mou hitori no boku," Yugi began. "Somehow, Harry was just the one involved in the beginning, and now we've dragged Hermione and Draco into it as well. It's just… I don't know what 'it' is at all!"

Yami Yugi held onto him, hugging him for all his worth. "Koibito… I don't know what's going on either… I just know that no matter what, I'll always be there to protect and love you."

Yugi looked up at him again, giving the pharaoh the opportunity to wipe away the tears that had streamed trails down his face. The teenager smiled halfheartedly.

"Promise, mou hitori no boku?"

He smiled, before giving his hikari a kiss on the forehead. "Promise, mou hitori no oré. Now… how are we going to get you out of here?"

-.oOOo.-

Ryou ran as fast as he could toward Domino International Airport, cursing the fact that he did not have enough money for a cab as he dragged his suitcase behind him. He was supposed to meet with the others around eight 'o clock at the airport so they could take Kaiba's private jet to England. However, he had had a slight… disagreement with the alarm clock that morning. Disagreement as in the blasted thing was set for seven _PM _instead of seven _AM._ Add that to his miscalculation of current funds, and you had one cranky and late white-haired teenager.

_I blame you for this, _he accused. _I don't know why, but I blame you for this. _

The tomb robber gave him the mental equivalent of a glare. _What the hell did I do? _

_You didn't set the alarm properly,_ Ryou shot back lamely as the airport front gate came into sight.

Bakura cursed. _I don't even know _how_ to set an alarm clock, so you can't pin this one on me. _

_I still blame you,_ he shot back as he dashed into main terminal and up to the counter to present the pass Kaiba had given him the day before.

Ryou looked around as the woman behind the counter checked to make sure his pass card was legit, and spotted Yugi and Yami Yugi off in a corner talking to Yugi's mother, who had a very stern look on her face. The woman at the counter gave him the okay, just as Yugi's mother said something that made the pharaoh's eyes grow wide. She left their company as he made his way over to them, but the unnerved look never left Yami Yugi's face.

"What'd she say to you?" Ryou asked.

Yugi gave him a sheepish look. "Something you wouldn't expect from my mother."

Yami Yugi gulped down his nervousness as Draco joined them, coming from the bathrooms. "Let's just say she threatened my manhood if I ever harmed Yugi, and leave it at that, shall we?"

Ryou gave the pharaoh a bland look. "Panseru-kun?"

"Yeah?"

"You realize my other self is laughing his rear end off right now, right?"

"I figured," Yami Yugi replied dryly. "He's still going to get it before the year is out."

Draco just sniggered. "No offense or anything, Yami Yugi, but… what's the worse you can do to him?"

The pharaoh smirked. "Oh, I'll find something. Everyone has a weakness."

Ryou looked in on his other self for a moment to see he had tensed up slightly, as if afraid the pharaoh already knew his "weakness". The hikari laughed, which earned him a glare, before turning his attention back to the real world.

"Anyway, sorry I'm late," he said. "Several morning problems."

"Don't worry about it," Yugi assured him. "Seto-kun hasn't even shown up yet."

Draco scratched his chin. "It's his plane; you'd think he'd show up early."

"What'd I miss?"

The sudden voice, coming from directly behind Draco, caused the young wizard to jump at least a mile in the air before coming down to earth. He whirled around and glared at Marik, who was grinning from ear to ear at his accomplishment.

"I swear, you're almost as destructive as Yami Bakura!" he growled, getting a laugh out of the Egyptian.

"Draco, Bakura almost brought down an entire country," Marik pointed out. "I just cause a little chaos here and there."

"A little chaos here and there?" Yugi and Yami Yugi asked dully.

Marik sweatdropped. "Oh… eh heh… is that Kaiba I see?"

He quickly raced off for where the tall brunette was standing at a counter, getting his pass approved. The other boys shook their heads and sighed before following. There was really no time to be bickering back and forth; soon they would be on the plane and on their way towards England…

…and another year and Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.


	7. Another Year at Hogwarts

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER SEVEN – ANOTHER YEAR AT HOGWARTS**

Diagon Alley was the place to go in London for magical supplies, especially for students at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. So it was no surprised to find Yugi, Yami Yugi, Ryou, Draco, Marik, and Seto walking the streets together a few days before the start of school. Random chitchat was the order of the day as they wandered about; stopping by the various shops they needed to go to in order to pick up their supplies. When they had to stop by Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions so as to get Yami Yugi his own set of robes, another requirement for the year came to light.

"Dress robes?" Draco groaned. "No…! I hate getting dressed up."

"Are dress robes really that bad?" Yugi asked, looking down at his own school list.

"They're… okay," Draco replied, making a face. "It really depends on what you get. I know the ones I had were horrible."

"So, you'll just have to get better ones this time around," Seto pointed out, opening up the door to the shop.

Getting fitted for dress robes turning out to be not nearly as bad as Draco implied. The garments they settled on turned out to be not much different from their normal school robes, only a little nicer and different colors. Both Yugi and Yami Yugi settled on dark purple robes, while Marik's was more of a lavender hue. Seto got a blue one with a silvery-white trim and Ryou chose a robe that was almost as white as his hair. Draco took nearly an hour to choose what he wanted, but when he finally did, he ended up walking away with a light green robe that seemed to change hues each time he moved.

With their new robes in hand, the boys prepared to leave the small shop, only to bump into their friend, Ron's, mother. Mrs. Weasley engulfed each of them in a bone-crushing hug as she said hello.

"Got your new robes for this year, I take it?" she asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Yugi answered cheerfully. "Where's Ron-kun and the others?"

Mrs. Weasley put a hand to her chest, surprised. "You mean you hadn't heard?"

"Heard what?" Yami Yugi asked.

"Goodness," she muttered. "About the Quidditch World Cup. Death Eaters attacked after the match. Nearly killed the muggles in charge of the camping grounds. Poor Harry almost ended up in the middle of it; his wand was stolen and used to send up the Dark Mark. We've been keeping everyone inside the house ever since."

The boys exchanged bewildered looks as Mrs. Weasley bid them good day. The six of them left the shop and managed to make it back to the Leaky Cauldron before expressing their bewilderment.

"The World Cup takes place around the same time as Battle City," Draco pointed out after they finished ordering lunch. "They planned this! They were probably after Harry as well as the God Cards! You're always saying there's something special about Harry, Yugi; something other than the fact that he was the Boy Who Lived."

Yugi bit his lip, a bit nervously. "There is… somehow, Harry-kun's tied in with the Millennium Items. I don't know how, and I really don't understand why he would be."

Seto sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Has anyone ever tried asking him? You never know; maybe he knows why he's connected to the rest of us."

_It's never that easy, hikari,_ Yami Seto pointed out in his mind.

Seto sighed.

"Well, there isn't much we can do about anything at the moment," Yami Yugi pointed out, as a waitress started to make her way to their table with their order. "Let's try and focus on school right now. If anything else happens, we can always ask Dumbledore. He seems to have most of the answers."

-.oOOo.-

Seto was the last to barrel through the portal to Platform Nine and Three Quarters that stormy September first at King's Cross Station. He tossed his head back and forth, shaking the rain droplets out of it, pushing his cart one handed (as his arm was still bound in an air cast) as he followed the others through the busy station. The cart swerved suddenly, and he would have lost control of it if a set of hands had not appeared to help him.

"Easy there, hikari," Yami Seto admonished. "You got it okay?"

"Yeah, thanks," Seto replied shortly, putting both hands on the cart before running off the catch up with the others. The high priest sighed half-heartedly, before following the young man, least he got dragged around the platform.

The five boys and two spirits dropped off their luggage before boarding the large scarlet steam engine. Yami Seto hung back a bit, his hands in his pockets and a sullen look on his face. It was starting to get to the point where he was envious of his pharaoh again, though not for the same reasons he had been five thousand years ago. Panseru understood his hikari so completely and loved him so much that he was starting to miraculously develop his own body – he was not stupid, he knew what as going on. While he did not want to have the same relationship with Seto as the pharaoh had with his hikari, he still wanted to at least be able to _understand_ him. He was such a hard person to approach, and that was even considering the fact that he had lightened up considerably since he had come to Hogwarts.

The high priest was snapped out of his self-pity party by a familiar voice welcoming them. He looked up in time to see that they had arrived at their usual train compartment, and that Marik was practically getting glomped by his girlfriend, Hermione Granger. This brought another pang to his heart; it was obvious just by looking at their hikaris that some people connected to what happened in Khemet in the past had been reborn in body, but he had yet to see… _her, _and he was starting to fear he never would again.

"Geeze, Yami Yugi!" Ron exclaimed, poking the pharaoh in the arm, only to have his finger sink slightly into his flesh. "You're becoming so real, your gonna start getting the letter every year!"

Yami Yugi laughed. "Well, that would be something hard to explain to Yugi's mother."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Both Yugi and Yami Yugi shot sour glances in Yami Bakura's direction, who had appeared next to his hikari as soon as they arrived in the compartment.

"Long story," they said at the same time as the tomb robber smirked.

Draco pulled Harry and Ron into seats at that moment, practically demanding that they tell him all the juicy details about the Quidditch Cup. Marik and Hermione sat together, when Aishisu appeared in the seat next to her hikari, yawning lazily before saying hello to everyone. Yugi and Yami Yugi took their seat – the same seat, with the hikari sitting on his yami's lap – while Bakura and his yami sat across from them, with the tomb robber giving off his usual belligerent comment.

Seto pulled out his laptop from its case, which was slung about his neck and under his arm, before sitting down. Yami Seto followed just as the train started to move, sighing as his hikari opened his laptop and started typing one handed, his speed slightly impeded by this fact. Having nothing to do himself, the high priest looked about at the others, when his eyes stopped on the tomb robber. Yami Bakura was talking animatedly to his hikari, who was laughing heartily. Was it just his imagination, or was it a little bit harder to see through the tomb robber…?

Yami Seto bit back a growl; that was just his luck. The idiot _tomb robber_ had a better understanding of his hikari than he had of his own, and it seemed like he was being rewarded for it. He mentally swore; how come he could not get his hikari to open up to him? It should not be that hard, but something was preventing him from revealing himself to him. The high priest knew that what his adopted father put him through was enough to mentally damage anyone, but there was something else… something Seto had not told anyone, something that was buried so deep, that he doubted his hikari even knew about it himself.

"Hey, do you guys know what's going on this year?" Harry asked suddenly, snapped Yami Seto out of his thoughts.

"No… isn't it just like any other year?" Ryou asked.

"Apparently not," Ron replied. "Mum and my oldest brothers kept implying that something special was happening this year."

Draco frowned. "Special? I wonder what…?"

"Well, you would know, Draco honey, if you hadn't gone all soft."

Everyone whirled on the door, glaring at the all too unwelcome sight of Draco's slightly older cousin, Ecillia Lestrange. As per usual, Draco's former goons, Crabbe and Goyle, two thick bullies whose skulls were as thick as the rest of them, flanked her. She tossed her hair over her shoulder, before leaning against the doorframe in an almost predatory manner.

"Uncle Lucius told me _all_ about what's happening this year," she said idly, before turning a sly smile to all of them. "I wouldn't be surprised if none of you had enough courage to enter; most of you are nothing but cowardly mutts."

"Look who's talking," Yami Bakura muttered under his breath.

Ecillia gave him the dirtiest look she could muster, before beckoning to Crabbe and Goyle and leaving the cabin. Draco got up, muttering under his breath, and slammed the door closed so hard that he broke the glass.

"Draco!" Hermione exclaimed, getting up to use a quick Reparo spell on the glass.

"I'm sorry, I can't help it!" Draco cried, frustrated. "She gets on my nerves so much!"

"Don't worry about it so much, Draco-kun," Marik said, reassuringly, pulling him away from the door and guiding him back to his seat. "I'm sure once the Quidditch season gets started, we'll get another chance to show her up, just like last year."

-.oOOo.-

The self-drawn carriages that carried second year students and above to the doors of Hogwarts castle came to a gradual stop at the front entrance. As soon as they had stopped, students came pouring out of them, trying desperately to get into the school before they got too soaked from the rain that was still coming down in sheets.

"Goodness!" Hermione exclaimed, trying to shake out her bushy hair. "The lake is going to overflow the way it's raining out there! Look at this; I'm soak—_EEEEKKKK!" _

She shrieked just as a large red balloon exploded on her head, drenching her in even more water. Marik went to make sure she was okay, before turning an angry gaze above their heads. There was Peeves, the school poltergeist, armed with an armload of water balloons, and he was already taking aim at Yami Yugi.

_"Peeves!"_ an angry voice shouted from the top of the main foyer stairs. "Get down here at _once!" _

Professor McGonagall came running down the stairs, a beyond furious look on her face. She skidded on the wet floor, her hands flailing out until they managed to grab onto Seto's injured arm in her effort to keep from falling. Seto's eyes practically bulged out his head as he bit his tongue in a desperate attempt to keep himself from screaming.

"Ouch!" the professor muttered, letting go. "Sorry about that, Mr. Kaiba."

"No problem," he assured her, though his high-pitched voice got a few sniggers out of the crowd. Professor McGonagall did not notice, however, as she was too busy with Peeves.

"Peeves, get down here _now!"_ she shouted.

Peeves stuck his tongue out at her, before throwing a few well-aimed balloons at Yami Yugi and Neville and dumping the rest randomly into the crowd.

Once the poltergeist was out of sight, McGonagall guided the large mass of student into the Great Hall, though Seto was hardly paying much attention. As soon as he was seated in his usual seat at the end of his table, aloof from the others in Ravenclaw house, he pulled out his computer and continued the work he had started on the train. He had so much to do, between reaffirming that the proper staff was redirected to their new positions on his cloning project, to making sure that the families of the murdered scientist and guards had received compensation; he could not afford to pay attention to the sorting ceremony, or the whispered rumors of something strange on the lake surrounding the school and on the grounds of the school, or to his other self who had come out to idly twirl a fork about his fingers.

What finally did draw the CEO's attention away from his computer was a startled shout from the Gryffindor table. He turned slightly to see Harry and Marik half standing out of their seats, shocked looks on their faces. Dumbledore, from his usual place at the teacher's table, motioned for the two boys to sit and they did so, however reluctantly.

"Yes, gentlemen, there will be no Quidditch this year," Dumbledore repeated. "This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing through most of the school year. I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts –"

The headmaster was cut off by a loud bang accompanied by a deafening boom of thunder. The students in the Hall turned as one to see what Seto could only describe as something from a corny old American movie. The man was swathed in a grimy old black traveling cloak with a tangle of gray hair sticking out of it that made Hermione's unruly hair seem reasonable. As he passed by Seto on his way to the professor's table, the young CEO could see that while one of his eyes was perfectly normal, the other was a vivid electric blue, and seemed to exist on a different level from a normal eye. It kept rolling around, right back into the man's head, revealing nothing but whiteness.

The man reached Dumbledore, a _clunk_ing sound following his movements. The two exchanged words, before the headmaster addressed the assembled students once more.

"May I introduce out new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher?" he asked brightly. "Professor Moody."

Dumbledore and Hagrid were the only ones who applauded the man. Seto caught the whisperings of, "Not _Mad-Eye_ Moody!" from the other Ravenclaws, while his other self stared at him, repulsed.

"You've gotta be kidding…" Yami Seto muttered. "How much do we have to pay to get Lupin back?"

Professor Moody took his seat as Dumbledore cleared his throat to continue.

"As I was saying," he said, still smiling, "we are to have the honor of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months. It is my great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

Another round of disbelieving murmuring went through the crowd of students once more, only be cut short by yet one more loud bang of the double doors. Everyone turned once again to see a severe looking man in a sleek gray fur cloak leading a line of young wizards – the majority of which were boys – dressed in robes that were mostly covered by matted brown fur cloaks. There seemed like there was nothing special about them, though Seto heard the name, "Viktor Krum" muttered amongst his fellow classmates. The students and the man leading them lined up at the head table, just to the side of Dumbledore.

What came next even Seto was not expecting. The woman that followed could only be described as gargantuan; the young CEO had only seen one other person that came close to this woman's size, and that was Hagrid. Somehow – while he estimated they were probably about the same – it just seemed like the woman was _much_ bigger. Following her was a line of students, mostly girls, dressed in rich-looking blue and light blue robes.

Seto dismissed the whole thing – it probably was not something he was going to bother with anyway – when Yami Seto gripped his good arm suddenly.

"Hikari, look up, now," he ordered, sounding breathless.

Slightly annoyed, Seto looked up… and stared in disbelief. Walking along with the other blue-cloaked girls was what had to be the most perfect young woman he had ever seen. Sparkling deep blue eyes seemed to take in the room with slight disinterest. Long silvery blonde hair cascaded about her shoulders, and her skin looked as smooth as alabaster and about as pale as well. Seto knew he was staring at her, his mouth open in stupefied shock, but he did not care. She was just so…

"Hikari," Yami Seto said, tugging at his arm again as he stared at her as well. "It's her; I know it! It's Kisara reincarnated! I just know… hikari? Hikari? Hey! Why are _you_ still staring!"

Seto barely acknowledged the fact he asked a question. "Beautiful…" he muttered.

Yami Seto face palmed. "D'oh!"

The high priest's exclamation must have caught the girl's attention, for she turned and looked straight at them. Seto closed his mouth, his whole face turning scarlet before he turned back to pay his neglected computer attention and missing the small smile she directed toward him. The young CEO was so busy pretending that he was not blushing like an idiot that he missed most of the rest of what Dumbledore had to say. He picked up some things he was saying – something about the delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons and another thing about a goblet – but he did not notice much until a soft voice with a strong French accent made him look up.

"Iz zis seat taken?"

Seto's head snapped up to see the same girl from before, standing across the table from him. He felt the blood rushing to his face again as he burst out into a full out blush once more. He blinked again, looking around a moment to see the other blue-robed students were sitting in along with the rest of Ravenclaw house. Gulping rather loudly, he looked back up at the girl. What the hell was wrong with him! He dealt with cutthroat businessmen and women on a daily basis. Why could he not bring himself just to answer _one girl! _

_Hikari, if you don't answer her soon, she'll walk away, and I'll have to hit you,_ Yami Seto's voice came from within his mind. He looked over to where the high priest had been sitting, only to see that the seat was empty.

Damn him!

"Uh…" Seto began. "N-no, no it isn't." He motioned to the seat. "Go ahead."

She smiled at him as she slipped gracefully into the seat, making him turn another vivid shade of red. He gulped again, trying to hide his face behind his computer. That defense did not last for long, however, as the screen was suddenly snapped closed. Seto looked up again, surprised that the rest of his body was not tingling from the fact that all his blood was currently in his face.

The girl laughed at him, taking his hand in hers.

"You don' need to be afraid of me," she assured him. Seto gave her a rather embarrassed smile, easing down a bit. "My name iz Fleur Delacor. What iz yours?"

Seto smiled softly. Fleur… how fitting…

"Seto Kaiba," he answered, bringing her hand up to kiss it. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Delacor."

Fleur giggled. "Ze pleasure iz all mine."

A soft chuckle came from the back of his mind. _There's hope for you yet, hikari. _

Seto mentally whapped him, though he did not really mean it. _Hush, you're going to throw me off. _

-.oOOo.-

Marik let out a mighty yawn, muttering a "G'night" to Yugi and the others before crashing into his familiar four-poster bed in the forth year Gryffindor boys dormitory. He did not even feel his head hit the pillow, as he went out like a light before he even knew what he was doing.

_His dreams took him to a place the tomb robber would have felt the most comfortable. The graveyard was covered in a thick layer of mist that seemed to cover all the tombstones. The sky was blacker than the night, and an air of foreboding hovered over everything. Marik gulped, wonder why he would dream about such a dreadful place. _

_"Hikari-pretty…" _

_Marik swore loudly. "Not you again! Why are you bothering me! I have nothing to do with you anymore! You even said that yourself!" _

_"That's true, hikari-pretty," the voice of Yami Marik sneered in the darkness, his voice rising into an insanity pitch. "Bye-bye, hikari-pretty!" _

_Marik was about to demand what he meant by that, when the mist covering the graveyard suddenly glared a poisonous green. He took a step back in surprise, only to have his feet meet the air. Before he knew it, he was falling… falling through an endless sea of deadly green smoke that seemed to be choking him off from all life… _

Marik let out a scream as he awoke, sweat literally dripping down his face. He looked around a moment, reaching out with a hand to grab the curtains of his four-poster bed and pushing them aside, making sure he was still in the Gryffindor boy's dormitory.

"Marik-kun…?" Yugi's sleep-drowsy voice came from behind his curtains. "Are you okay…?"

"Yeah… yeah, Yugi-kun, I'm fine," he assured him, trying to keep from breathing too hard. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

"Okay…"

Marik heard a thud as Yugi collapsed back into bed, though he was sure that his heart was still thudding louder…


	8. MadEye Moody

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER EIGHT – MAD EYE MOODY**

"Seto? Hogwarts to Seto! Come in please!"

"Seto-kun? Diajoubou?"

"I know what'll snap him out of it… _Seto-kun! Kaiba Corporation is burning!" _

Seto snapped out of his dazed state with a half muttered, "Hunh?" at that, only to see that Yugi and the others were staring at him strangely. He looked around, trying to remember where he was and why he was there. It slowly flooded back; it was the first day of classes, and they had gathered together in the library after lunch to hang out before their afternoon classes. Hermione had her usual huge book before her; Marik was sitting next to her with an equally large book, while the others just had their decks out as if they were getting ready to duel.

"Uh… what? What do you want?" Seto finally asked.

Marik raised a critical eyebrow. "You okay? You've been in your own little world all day long."

"I'm fine," Seto replied shortly, before gathering his school supplies and heading off. Yugi and Yami Yugi just watched him leave from their seat next to each other, perplexed.

"Is he okay?" the pharaoh asked, sounding a bit concerned.

Yami Bakura took that moment to appear behind his hikari, crossing his arms and leaning on his head a bit playfully. He grinned his typical sadistic grin, while Bakura just rolled his eyes.

"Kaiba's got a girlfriend!" the tomb robber exclaimed in a singsong voice. Yugi looked like he was going to faint, while Draco's eyes nearly bugged out of his head.

"Seto!" he exclaimed. "A girlfriend? You're joking."

Yami Bakura's smile got more sadistic. "You obviously didn't see it last night," he replied smugly. "When those Beauxbatons chicks showed up, one of them went to sit with him. I've only seen strawberries and apples the shade of red he was turning."

Harry and Ron exchanged disbelieving looks while Hermione giggled, latching onto Marik's arm, who was just blinking rather stupidly. Yugi and Yami Yugi exchanged secret smiles while Bakura just sighed. Draco shook his head, before gathering up his books.

"C'mon, guys, we've got double Divination," he pointed out, not sounding very enthusiastic.

With that said, the group parted ways. Hermione and Bakura went off to their own classes, while the others went off all the way to the top floor of the North Tower (with the two yamis returning to their respective Soul Rooms). Then, it was up to Professor Trelawney's classroom, which really looked more like a tearoom than anything else. They went to their normal seats around one of the large tables, at which, Seto was already typing on his computer.

As they waited for the rest of the class to arrive and for the professor to reveal herself, Yugi kept taking sidelong glances at the young businessman. Finally, after a long moment, he asked, "So, what's her name?"

With a _clack,_ Seto's fingers came to a dead stop, before he turned a bland look to the shorter boy. Yugi just smiled sheepishly, but he was saved from a tongue lashing by the misty voice of Professor Trelawney from behind them.

"Good day," she said quietly, making Harry nearly jump out of his chair. She looked down at him tragically, before she spoke again, "You are preoccupied, my dear. My inner eye sees past your brave face to the troubled soul within, and I regret to say that your worries are not baseless. I see difficult times ahead for you… all of you… I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass… and perhaps sooner than you think…"

Yugi, Marik, and Draco stared at her, wide-eyed, while Harry, Ron, and Seto gave her a stony look. After a long moment, the professor swept past them to her winged armchair before the fire, facing the class.

"My dears, it is time for us to consider the stars," she began. "The movements of the planets and the mysterious portents they reveal only to those who understand the steps of the celestial dance. Human destiny may be deciphered by the planetary rays, which intermingle…"

Unlike the rest of the class, who were either watching with bored interest or hanging on her every word, Harry zoned out from the discussion. He never really took the professor seriously – she was the biggest fraud he ever came across – but what she had said disturbed him.

_I fear the thing you dread will indeed come to pass… _

It was not the words themselves that disturbed him, but the way that Yugi, Marik, and Draco reacted to it that bothered him the most. Harry had learned throughout the course of his friendship with the Japanese students that they and the Items the owned held a vast amount of secrets; way too many for him to comprehend. Hermione and Draco had become the same way since acquiring their Items, and he could not help but feel…

A jab to his side cut off his musings.

_"Harry…!" _Ron hissed.

Harry looked around, only to see everyone staring at him – much in the same way they had stared at Seto back in the library. It took him a minute to realize that he had almost dozed off, and he straightened himself, giving his friends a sort of embarrassed smile.

"As I was saying, my dear," Professor Trelawney said, looking less than pleased, "you were obviously born under the baleful influence of Saturn."

Harry blinked, his mind too fogged up to process that statement. "Hunh?"

"Saturn, dear! The planet Saturn!" the professor repeated, sounding downright irritated now. "I was saying that Saturn was surely in a position of power in the heavens at the moment of your birth. Your dark hair, your mean stature, tragic losses so young in life; I think I am right in saying, my dear, that you were born in midwinter."

Harry raised an eyebrow; she really was a kook. "No, I was born in July."

Ron was just about turning blue from holding back his laughter, while Draco turned his into a foul sounding cough.

"Actually," Marik cut in, his head resting in one hand while the other traced lines in the wood of the table, "if Harry were born under the primary sign of Saturn, that would mean that he was born under the constellation of Capricornus. In Egypt, this was also called a 'Negative Earth-sign', meaning a great part of his life would be consumed by or influenced by evil. However, Harry was born under the primary sign of the Sun and under the constellation of Leo. In Egypt, that was a 'Positive Fire-sign', meaning his life was dominated by courage and the desire to do good."

The stares of the class suddenly turned toward Marik. Even Professor Trelawney looked impressed. The young Egyptian, however, just shrugged nonchalantly.

"It's a hobby."

About half an hour later, everyone had been given a complicated star chart and were supposed to determine the positions of the planets at the moment of their birth. Marik and Seto finished theirs easily enough, Draco gave up after a few minutes, but everyone else put a valiant effort into it. The rest of the lesson progressed fairly well – Trelawney seemed to temporarily give up trying to predict Harry's death – until Ron asked Lavender a very… wrong sounding question.

"Can I have a look at Uranus too?"

Even after class let out, Ron could not figure out why he got more homework than anyone else.

-.oOOo.-

Seto sighed wearily as he made his way back toward the Ravenclaw dormitories, his mind still wandering back to last night and Fleur Delacor. He had never felt that way about _anyone_ before, and he did not understand why either. Was it just lusting – nineteen years old and never had a girlfriend… very sad – or was there really such a thing as love at first sight? He sighed again, frustrated this time; he had too many other things to worry about, and raging hormones did not _need_ to be one of them.

"Um, excuse me?"

Seto whirled around, then had to look down. Behind him were two mousy young Gryffindors, one of which was holding an old fashioned camera.

"Are you Seto Kaiba?" the one with the camera asked.

"Uh… yeah."

The two of them beamed. "I'm Colin Creevey, and this is my brother, Dennis," the one with the camera introduced. The other one looked up at him adoringly.

"You really are Seto Kaiba!" Dennis exclaimed. "I'm your biggest fan! I've collected all the Duelist Monthly magazine articles about you. I even have the two thousand and one special New Years pull out poster!"

Seto blinked, at a loss for words. "Uh… that's…"

He trailed off as the sound of laughter reached his ears. Turning, he desperately fought back a blush as he saw the person that had kept his mind occupied all day surrounded by a cluster of seventh year boys. Muttering an "Excuse me," to the Creevey brothers, he slowly approached the group, trying to draw Fleur's attention and not the other boys. Successful, Fleur turned in his direction slightly before excusing herself and walking toward him.

"Puppy-dog following?" Seto asked as she approached, ignoring the jealous looks he got from the other boys before they slowly dispersed. Fleur laughed lightly, shrugging slightly.

"It iz both a blezzing and a curse," she said, before pausing a moment, biting her lip uncertainly. "I… I am part veela."

Whatever reaction she was expecting, the one that she got was not it. Seto blinked, rather confused, before rubbing the back of his neck.

"I'm sorry, but I'm unfamiliar with… ah…"

He trailed off, smiling rather embarrassingly. Fleur just stared at him, caught off guard.

"Truly…?" she asked. "You truly don' know…?"

It was Seto's turn to bite his lip now, a million scenarios running through his mind, all of them going from bad to catastrophic. She surprised him again, however; laughing happily and practically glomping him, wrapping her arms around his neck and making his laptop carrying case slip off his shoulder to land on the ground with a metallic _clank._ Seto just stood there, stock still, his brain totally frozen and not offering him any suggestions on how to react. After a moment, she let go, and his mind was torn between wishing she had not to wondering why he was bothering with her to begin with.

"I'll zee you at dinner," Fleur said, walking off toward the Great Hall.

Seto stood there for a few minutes, blinking rather stupidly; the only thing running through his mind was what the mutt back in Japan would say if he saw him right now. He gulped a moment, fighting back another one of those accursed blushes, before collecting his case and rushing off to his dormitory…

…and missing the twin sets of brown eyes watching him.

-.oOOo.-

Yami Yugi, Yugi, Marik, Draco, Ron, and Harry made their way to the Gryffindor tower to drop off their belongings before going down to dinner. Hermione joined them just as they were about to ascend the stairs, smiling brightly and making a point to swing her unusually light backpack around as often as she possibly could.

"Homework?" she asked. "Professor Vector didn't give us any."

"Lucky you," Ron grumbled.

Marik smirked, wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "Ron got more homework than the rest of us."

The younger wizard threw up his hands in exasperation. "All I asked was if I could see Uranus! What's wrong with that?"

Yami Yugi grinned wolfishly. "Ah… to be young and naïve…"

Yugi had to hold onto his darker half as the look of realization that dawned on Ron's face sent him and Marik into howls of laughter. Their mirth was cut short, however, as an annoying voice rang out from behind them.

"Weasel! Hey, Weasel!"

They all turned, though they did not really need to, as they already knew the owner of _that_ particular voice. Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle were running toward them; the former of the group was obviously happy about something as she waved a newspaper around excitedly.

"What do you want?" Ron asked blandly.

Ecillia smiled that predatory smile of hers. "Your dad's in the paper, Weasel!" she exclaimed, exaggeratingly fanning out the copy of the _Daily Prophet _before reading aloud:

**FURTHER MISTAKES AT THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC **

It seems as though the Ministry of Magic's troubles  
are not yet at an end, _writes Rita Skeeter, Special  
Correspondent. _Recently under fire for its poor  
crowd control at the Quidditch World Cup, and still  
unable to account for the disappearance of one of  
its witches, the Ministry was plunged into fresh  
embarrassment yesterday by the antics of Arnold  
Weasley, of the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office.

Ecillia paused a moment, outright grinning at the last bit.

"They can't even get his name right, Weasel," she sneered. "He really is a nonentity, isn't he?"

Draco and Marik had to grab a hold of Ron to prevent him from tackling her as she continued:

Arnold Weasley, who was charged with possession  
of a flying car two years ago, was yesterday involved  
in a tussle with several Muggle law-keepers  
("policemen") over a number of highly aggressive  
dustbins. Mr. Weasley appears to have rushed to the  
aid of "Mad-Eye" Moody, the aged ex-Auror who  
retired from the Ministry when no longer able to tell the  
difference between a handshake and attempted murder.  
Unsurprisingly, Mr. Weasley found, upon arrival at Mr.  
Moody's heavily guarded house, that Mr. Moody had  
once again raised a false alarm. Mr. Weasley was  
forced to modify several memories before he could  
escape from the policemen, but refused to answer  
_Daily Prophet _questions about why he had involved the  
Ministry in such an undignified and potentially  
embarrassing scene.

"And look, Weasel!" Ecillia exclaimed, not knowing when to quit even though it looked like Ron was going to turn into a rampaging bull any minute. "There's picture of your parents outside… is that _thing_ a house! Oh, and dear me, your mum… she could stand to loose a little weight, now could she…?"

Harry and Yami Yugi had to add their weight to Ron to keep him from charging forward and doing something potentially drastic.

"Put a sock in it, Ecillia," Draco snapped. "Preferably a smelly one. C'mon, Ron…"

"Oh, Draco honey, you've seen that cow, haven't you?" Ecillia sneered, prompting everyone holding onto Ron to shout in surprise as he almost broke free. "Tell me, dear cousin, is she really that damn fat or is it just the picture?"

A dark look overtook Draco's face at that. "Do you even _know_ your mother, Ecillia?" he snapped. "Last I heard, she didn't have much of her sanity left, thanks to the dementors."

Ecillia's smirk turned into a deadly scowl. "You have no _right_ to speak of my mother that way."

"Then keep your fat mouth shut," Draco snarled in reply, helping the others turn Ron around…

_BANG! _

Yugi and Hermione yelped in surprise as Draco felt something hot brush past the side of his face. In the next instant, he had his hand in his pocket, ready to tear out his wand and make good use of it. He was stopped short, however, when another loud bang echoed through the corridor, followed by an angry bellow.

_"OH NO YOU DON'T, MISSY!" _

Everyone turned to see Professor "Mad-Eye" Moody limping toward them, a deadly look on his face. His wand was out, and pointed straight at a golden brown ferret, which was looking about in fright on the same spot Ecillia had been standing a few moments before. The group of Gryffindors stared at the animal, wide-eyed – no one knew if they should laugh or not. Moody took advantage of the shocked silence to shuffle up to Draco, inspecting the spot on his face that had gotten grazed by Ecillia's spell with his normal eye. The other one seemed to have rolled into the back of his head.

"Did she get you?" Moody asked, his voice as grave as his appearance.

"Just missed," Draco replied hesitantly.

_"LEAVE IT!" _Moody shouted again suddenly.

Draco blinked. "Um… hunh?"

"Not you, him!" Moody growled, jerking a thumb back to Crabbe and Goyle, who had just frozen in their effort to pick up the Ecillia-ferret. Apparently, that rolling eye of the professor's did more than just creep people out. Professor Moody started to approach the three Slytherins, and the Ecillia-ferret squealed and tried to make a break for it.

"Oh, no you don't, missy!" Moody exclaimed, pointing his wand at her. She went flailing a good ten feet into the air, fell to the floor once more with a painful sounding _smack,_ and was bounced up once more. "I don't like people who attack others when their back's turned," the professor continued, bouncing her higher and higher. "Stinking, cowardly, scummy thing to do!"

Ecillia-ferret bounced up once more, legs and tail flailing helplessly, and she was squealing so loudly it was a miracle the whole castle did not hear her.

"Never – do – that – again –" Moody said, bouncing her on the floor with each word.

"Professor Moody!" a horrified voice exclaimed. The boys and Hermione turned to see Professor McGonagall was walking toward them, loaded down with several dusty old books.

"Hello professor," Moody replied calmly, continuously bouncing the Ecillia-ferret higher and higher.

"What… _are_ you doing…?" she asked, watching the ferret bounce.

"Teaching."

"Teach… Professor Moody, is that a _student!"_ she exclaimed, dropping her books.

"Yup."

"No!" McGonagall exclaimed, pushing past Moody and tearing out her wand. One moment, and one snapping noise, later, Ecillia was back in her normal form. She was lying on the floor in a heap, her hair all askew and her face pink with humiliation. She crawled back to her feet, glaring daggers at Moody.

"Professor Moody, we _never_ use Transfiguration as a punishment!" McGonagall shrieked. "We give detentions, or speak to the student's Head of House!"

Moody shrugged, slightly disappointed. "I'll do that then," he said, hobbling over to Ecillia and grabbing her roughly by the arm. She winced, before continuing to glare at him, muttering something about "my uncle."

"Oh, yeah?" Moody replied, obviously hearing her, tugging her along with him, Crabbe and Goyle following reluctantly. "Well, I know that uncle of yours, missy. You tell him Moody's keeping an eye on his niece. Now, your Head of House'll be Snape, will it?"

They disappeared down the hall before any of them could hear Ecillia's scathing reply, but they did hear her yelp as Moody obviously did something. McGonagall sighed tiredly, before turning to the group of Gryffindors.

"You all had best get down to supper," she suggested.

"Don't talk to me," Ron replied, a giddy look on his face.

"I beg your pardon, Mr. Weasley!" McGonagall responded, shocked.

"Ron!" Hermione exclaimed.

"No," Ron started to explain, closing his eyes. "I want to fix that image in my memory forever. Ecillia Lestrange, the amazing bouncing ferret…"

Professor McGonagall sighed in exasperation, but it looked like she was fighting to prevent her lips from curving up into a smile. She waved them off, before using a spell to collect her books and disappearing down the hall herself. The Gryffindors were about to go off to their dorm as they initially intended, when a sharp whistle stopped them. They turned to see both Bakura and Yami Bakura running up to them.

"News from the 'Seto in Love' front!" the tomb robber exclaimed, before he paused a moment. "What are you all so giddy about?"


	9. The Unforgivable Curses

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER NINE – THE UNFORGIVABLE CURSES**

Two days later found the four wizards from Japan and their respective spirits standing before the Goblet of Fire. The goblet was wooden, and also nothing overly special, not counting the dancing blue flames the leapt out of it. Resting on the table next to the goblet was several sheets of parchment and an owl quill sticking out of an ink vile. The seven of them looked at the goblet, watching as some people stopped to write their name down before throwing the parchment into the fire.

On the first night of school, Dumbledore had presented the strange goblet to the school. Supposedly, if they were old enough, they could deposit their name into the fire to be considered for participation in the Triwizards Tournament. The delegations from Durmstrang and Beauxbatons had put their names in the first night before they settled down to eat – which, Seto had missed, as he was too "preoccupied" with his computer – and the students in Hogwarts had until Halloween to do the same.

"I dunno, guys…" Yugi said nervously. "Seems kinda dangerous, don't you think?"

Yami Bakura rubbed the tip of his nose in thought. "After everything else that we've been through, I don't think a bunch of parlor tricks will be that hard," he stated.

Bakura rolled his eyes. "So enter."

Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura exchanged looks.

"Are we even allowed?" the pharaoh asked. "I mean… we technically don't go to school here…"

The tomb robber was about to reply, when he spotted Dumbledore walking on his way to the Great Hall. He waved to the elderly headmaster, catching his attention.

"Oy, Ojii-san," he began, getting frowns out of the others, "can we dead people enter the tournament too?"

Yami Yugi muttered something that sounded suspiciously like, "Speak for yourself," while Dumbledore contemplated his question. After a moment, the headmaster shrugged casually, an easy smile on his face.

"I do not see the harm in it," he said. "Though, I would find it wise if you were in your respective host's bodies if you get chosen. The other school leaders might frown down on a spirit participating on his own."

Yami Bakura looked to his hikari as the elderly man headed off.

"D'ya mind?" he asked.

Bakura just sighed, waving his hand. "Do what you want, but when we get home, you have dish duty the whole summer."

"Small price to pay," the tomb robber stated, practically sprinting to the table to write his name in sloppy English before depositing it in the goblet.

Meanwhile, Yugi was looking up to Yami Yugi, a small smile on his face. When asked what he was smiling about, the smaller boy's face broke out into a grin.

"I know you want to enter," he said.

Yami Yugi frowned. "I don't want to put you in harms way, aibou."

Yugi's smile turned sly, as he turned to face the table. "Well, I suppose if that's the case, I'll enter myself then."

A worried look crossed the spirit's face then, and he stepped before his lighter half. "No, on second thought, maybe I will enter."

Yami Bakura sniggered as Yami Yugi went up to write his name down on a piece of parchment. "You are _so_ easily duped, pharaoh."

He glared at the tomb robber as he dropped his name into the goblet. "Bite me, baka tomb robber."

Yami Bakura grinned maliciously. "No thanks. I like my meat raw. You're a little over-cooked."

The pharaoh growled, his fists shaking as if he were about ready to slug the tomb robber, as Bakura shook his head sadly. Yugi sighed, looking over to Marik, Seto, and Yami Seto; all three of whom had been very quiet.

"Are you guys gonna enter too?" he asked as his darker self said something that made the tomb robber turn green.

"Definitely not," Seto and Yami Seto stated at the same time. Marik smirked at that.

"That's only because you might go up against your girlfriend," he sneered.

Both yami and hikari seemed to turn the same shade of red as Yugi giggled.

"Well, what about you?" Seto snapped, not amused.

Marik sobered slightly, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Nah, I don't think so. Hermione won't admit it, but she gets scared every time I have to play in Quidditch. If this is supposed to be more dangerous than that, I don't want to give her a heart attack."

"Speaking of girlfriends," Yami Yugi began, walking away from an almost fight with the tomb robber. He sidled up toward Seto, the sly look on his face making the young businessman take a step back. "When are you going to introduce us to yours?"

Seto blanched at the very thought. He could easily picture Fleur walking away from him and not looking back if he ever introduced someone as delicate and sophisticated as her to any of these crazy spirits. He was so disgusted by the thought that he did not notice the tomb robber sneaking up on his other side until he latched onto his arm.

"Aw, c'mon, Seto-kun," he leered. "If she's going to be your girl, we got to check her out. You know; background check…"

"Past boyfriends…" the pharaoh supplied.

"Favorite food…" Yami Bakura added, tossing a secret smirk to Yami Yugi.

"Favorite color…" he said, returning the smirk.

"Favorite subject…"

"Favorite position—"

"Okay, that's enough!" Yami Seto cut the pharaoh off, as Seto turned several deep hues of red. He managed to pull his hikari out of the tomb robber's grasp and steer him away toward the Great Hall, all the while muttering, "I swear, hikari, he wasn't like that in Khemet. I think it's those 'porn' things the mutt's always letting him and Yugi borrow… and get those dirty thoughts _out _of your mind!"

Seto stuttered something incomprehensible in return, and Yugi and Marik managed to wait until the two tall boys were out of sight before falling to the ground in uncontrollable laughter. Bakura shook his head sadly, muttering something about his virgin ears, while Yami Yugi tossed the tomb robber a smirk. Yami Bakura returned the expression with his own malicious grin.

"You know, he has to realize that we're never going to let him live this down," he pointed out.

"He'll realize that once all that extra blood leaves his face," the pharaoh replied casually. "He doesn't realize you and Bakura-kun are spying on him, right?"

Bakura grinned slightly then, pulling out a new camera from it's hiding place in his pocket. "Not a clue."

The five of them followed the young businessman and the high priest into the Great Hall, with Bakura and Yami Bakura going off to the Hufflepuff table while Yugi, Yami Yugi, and Marik went to the Gryffindor table. Harry, Ron, and Draco were already at the table, but Hermione was absent, as had been typical since school started.

"Marik, do you have any idea why Hermione's always going to the library during lunch?" Ron asked as the three of them sat down. The Egyptian just shrugged, reaching for a salad.

"Not a clue," he said, setting the sandwich down and reaching over for some pickles. "She's been acting strange ever since she found out that house elves work in this school."

Draco grinned. "It was kinda funny when Yami Yugi said he couldn't understand why she was so upset."

Yami Yugi sighed as his hikari giggled.

"My ears are still ringing from that tongue lashing she gave me," he muttered. "'Of course you would say that! You come from a culture that had slaves!' She acted like I abused them or something."

Harry grinned. "I think it's the mere fact that you _had_ slaves, Panseru."

Yami Yugi shook his head. "I'm not saying it's right or anything, but for me and my people, it was just a fact of life. If I knew I wouldn't have been looked upon with ridicule, I would have freed ever single one of those people, especially those that had cruel masters."

Marik grinned, giving the pharaoh a light punch on the shoulder. "Hey, we can only do what we can. Besides, it's not like you had the throne for very long."

Yami Yugi made a rude sounding noise, tossing a glare toward Yami Bakura at the Hufflepuff table, who was too busy shooting off pickle seeds to notice ("Yami! Eat your food, don't play with it!" Bakura was yelling).

"Anyway," Marik continued, "we've got Defense Against the Dark Arts today!"

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed, rubbing his hands. "Fred and George have been torturing me all week!"

"They already had Professor Moody's class, Ron-kun?" Yugi asked around a mouthful of a roast beef sandwich.

Ron nodded. "Yeah. They said he's the coolest. Better than Lupin!"

A thoughtful look crossed Draco's face. "Well, he was an Auror."

"A what-or?" Marik asked.

"An Auror," Draco repeated. "Ministry of Magic employees who mainly police people who practice the dark arts. I think Moody was probably there the longest before he was forced to retire. It got to the point where he couldn't tell the difference between a handshake and an attempt on his life."

Yugi's eyes widened. "Is it really that bad?"

Ron nodded. "Dark wizards aren't exactly pleasant, Yugi. I mean, we already know about You-Know-Who."

Harry leaned over in his seat slightly so he could see Draco better. "Is that what Moody meant when he said he knew your father? Because he was an Auror?"

Draco smirked. "Yup," he replied. "Him and Moody are old… acquaintances. My father will never admit it, but Moody almost caught him a couple times."

Marik checked his watch, before wiping his mouth off on a napkin. "I don't know about you guys, but I want to try to get there early."

-.oOOo.-

Hermione joined Yugi, Marik, Ron, Harry, and Draco just as they reached the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom. She was breathing hard from the run, but she allowed Marik to steer her into the classroom and to the front row before anyone else could claim the space. The rest of the class filed in soon after them, apparently also anxious to start the class with the new teacher they had been hearing so much about.

Moody entered the class not long after everyone was settled, ledger in hand, telling students that had their books out that they would not need them. He took roll call then, his electric blue eye whirling around to look at each student as they answered. When he finished, he was about to take his place behind the desk, when he stopped, his eye swiveling back and forth between Yugi and Hermione.

"You two," he said, motioning to the two of them. "Tell yer friends there to come out and join us like normal students."

Yugi and Hermione exchanged bewildered looks. Apparently, that eye of his could see more than just out of the back of his head. Yami Yugi and Aishisu appeared a moment later, sheepish expressions on their faces as they went and got chairs so they could sit next to their hikaris.

"Right then," he stated, sitting down at the professor's desk. "I've had a letter from Professor Lupin, and he says you've had a pretty thorough grounding with Dark creatures. But you're behind – quite behind – on dealing with curses. So, I've got one year to bring you up to scratch on what –"

"You're not staying!" Ron exclaimed.

Moody's magical eye swiveled on the young wizard, who backed down into his seat a bit. The grizzled professor just grinned after a moment, however.

"Arthur Weasley's son, eh?" he asked, to which Ron nodded. "Your father helped me outta 'a tight corner a few days ago. Send him my thanks. Yeah, I'm staying just this one year. Special favor to Dumbledore, then back to my quiet retirement."

He let out a bark of laughter at that, clapping his hands together loud enough to make the class jump.

"Now then, straight into it," he stated. "Curses; they come in many forms with varying degrees of strength. Now, the Ministry says I'm not allowed to show you what the actual illegal Dark curses look like until your sixth year, but Dumbledore reckons you're ready for it, and I say the sooner you know what you're up against, the better. A Dark wizard isn't going to tell you what he's going to do to you before he does it. You need to be prepared. You need to be alert and watchful. You need to put that away, Miss Brown, when I'm talking."

The eyes of the class turned to Lavender as she jumped. Apparently, she had been showing Parvati her horoscope under the table. Hermione and Aishisu rolled their eyes, the latter clicking her tongue disapprovingly.

"So, do any of you know which curses are most heavily punished by wizarding law?" Moody asked, his magic eye still trained on Lavender.

Several hands rose hesitantly, and the professor chose Ron out of the mix.

"Um… my dad told me about this one once," he began. "I think it was called the Imperius Curse?"

Moody nodded. "Your father _would_ know about that one. Gave the Ministry quite a bit of trouble."

He got up from his chair, reaching into the desk and pulling out a glass jar. Draco and Ron involuntarily cringed; Ron had always been afraid of spiders, and Draco developed his fear when they had ventured into the forbidden forest in their second year.

Moody took one of the three spiders in the jar out, holding it out so everyone could see it, before pointing his wand at it.

"Imperio!"

The spider leapt from Moody's hand, clinging on to it on a thread of silk. It swung back and forth as if on a trapeze, before it did a back flip, landing on the desk and cartwheeling about. Most of the class was laughing at its antics; the professor was not, nor was Yugi or Marik, or the Egyptian spirits.

"Think it's funny, do you?" Moody growled. "How would you like it if I did it to you, eh?"

The laughter faded away almost instantly as Moody scooped up the spider and put it back in the jar.

"Total control," he explained quietly. "I could make it jump down one of your throats if I wanted to."

Draco blanched.

"Years back, a lot of wizards had been controlled by Imperius," the professor continued. "Quite a job for the Ministry, trying to sort who was being forced to act, and who was acting of their own free will.

"Imperius can be fought, and I'll be teaching you how to do so. It takes real strength of character, and not everyone can manage it. Best to avoid it whenever you can. _CONSTANT VIGILANCE!" _

The class jumped as one at his shout.

"Anyone else know one? Another illegal curse?"

Fewer hands went up this time, among them being Neville's, to Harry's surprise. The only class Neville ever participated in was Herbology, and even then he was quiet. Even he looked shocked at his own daring, but he kept his hand up until Moody pointed him out.

"T…the Cruciatus Curse," he said in a small voice.

Moody smiled softly. "Longbottom, eh?" he asked. Neville nodded, but the professor did not inquire further. He reached into the jar again and pulled out a second spider. He placed it on the desktop where it stayed, too frightened to move.

"This one, needs to be a bit bigger for you to get the idea," he said, before pointing his wand at it. "Engorgio!"

The spider swelled to ten times its normal size. Draco and Ron yelped before pushing their chairs backward, trying to get as far away from the desk as possible.

Moody raised his wand again, pointing it at the spider. "Crucio!"

Immediately, the spider's legs bent in on its body and it rolled over, twitching and rocking from side to side. There was no sound from it, though Yugi imagined that if the poor creature had a voice, it would be screaming. The professor did not remove his wand, and the spider seemed to shudder more and more violently…

"Stop it!" Yami Yugi exclaimed, standing up from his seat.

Yugi looked up at his other self, before looking around at Neville. The young wizard's hands where clenched to tightly on the lip of his desk that his knuckles were white. His eyes where wide with horror, and he was sweating profusely. Moody raised his wand, and the spider relaxed, but continued to twitch.

"Reducio," he murmured, returning the spider to its normal size. He put it back in the jar as Yami Yugi sat down.

"Pain," Moody explained softly. "You don't need thumbscrews or knives if you know Cruciatus… Now, then. Any others?"

No one was willing to raise their hand after that one. A long moment passed before Draco, his fingers twitching in slight nervousness, raised his hand. Moody regarded him critically a moment, before motioning for him to go on.

"Avada Kedavra," he whispered.

Moody nodded solemnly as the whole class shifted in unease, particularly Yugi and Yami Yugi.

"Yes, the last and worst," the professor explained. "Avada Kedavra… the Killing Curse."

He put his hand into the glass jar, but the last spider seemed to know what was coming. It scuttled about in a futile effort to get away, but was trapped by Moody's fingers and dragged out onto the desk. The creature started to skitter away as fast as it could as the professor raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!"

A flash of blinding green light shot out of Moody's wand, followed by a rushing sound, as if something were soaring through the air. Instantly, the spider curled up onto its back, unmarked but still unmistakably dead. Marik stared at the creature in shock, barely registering the horrified gasps coming from the rest of the class. That green… light…

_"Bye-bye, hikari-pretty!" _

_The mist covering the graveyard suddenly glared a poisonous green. He took a step back in surprise, only to have his feet meet the air. Before he knew it, he was falling… falling through an endless sea of deadly green smoke that seemed to be choking him off from all life… _

"Not nice," Moody said calmly, snapping Marik out of the memory. "Not pleasant. There's no countercurse either; no way of blocking it. Only one known to ever survive it is sitting right in front of me."

All eyes turned to Harry, who was trying his best to pretend he was not really there, his thoughts wandering off. So… that was what had killed his parents… that was the green light that plagued his nightmares… Harry crossed his arms and rested his head atop them as Moody continued the lesson, knowing there was no way he was going to be able to focus on the rest of it.

-.oOOo.-

That night in the Gryffindor common room, Harry, Draco, Yugi, Marik, and Ron sat about near the fire. Their _Unfogging the Future_ books were set out in front of them, and they were participating in one of their favorite after class pass times: faking their Divination homework. Draco just finished his when Hermione came into the room carrying a sheaf of parchment in one hand and a box full some rattling some things in the other. She sat down in front of them, laying out her things in an empty armchair.

"I've finally finished!" she declared, opening up the box to reveal about fifty different colored badges, all bearing the letters S.P.E.W. Marik picked up one of the badges, blinking in disbelief.

"Spew?" he asked. He exchanged looks with Yugi before looking up at her. "Hermione, we're nineteen years old. Do you know how _wrong_ that sounds?"

Hermione huffed. "Not _spew,"_ she said impatiently. "It's S.P.E.W. It stands for the Society for the Promotion of Elfish Welfare."

"Never heard of it," Ron stated.

"Of course you haven't," she replied. "I just started it."

"Right…" Draco said. "And… how many members do you have?"

"Well, if you all join, seven," she answered, before looking at Yugi. "Make that eight."

_No way am I walking around wearing something that wrong…_ Yami Yugi muttered.

Yugi sweatdropped.

"And… you expect us to walk around the school with badges that say 'spew'?" Marik asked.

"S.P.E.W!" Hermione corrected hotly, glaring. "I was going to put _Stop the Outrageous Abuse of Our Fellow Magical Creatures and Campaign for a Change of Their Legal Status,_ but it wouldn't fit."

"Unh-hunh…" Marik said dully. "Look, Hermi-chan, you know I normally support you no matter what, but don't you think you're going a little overboard this time? I mean, how many people have told you that the house elves like working for their masters. It's what they do!"

Hermione frowned deeply. "And how would you know? Have you ever owned one I don't know about?"

"Of course not," Marik replied, starting to get annoyed. "I'm just saying it's pretty pointless to form a committee to free creatures that don't want to be freed."

"They're being suppressed!" Hermione practically shrieked. "Their voices can't be heard because their masters are stopping them from rising up in protest."

"Hermione, does it even seem that way in this school?" Marik responded hotly. "If they enjoy working for their masters, then let them work! It's what they want to do, so why try and stop them?"

Hermione stood up from her seat angrily, gathering her things as she did so. "Fine! If that's the way you feel, then you can take that barbaric way of thinking back home into the ground with you!"

"Hey!" Marik exclaimed, insulted, as she stalked off toward the girl's dormitory. After a moment, the boys heard a door slam. A long period of silence followed, after which, Harry looked over to Draco, confusion written clearly on his face.

"What just happened?" he asked.

Draco sighed, giving him an exasperated look. "Offhand? I'd say Marik just got dumped."


	10. Sealing Fate

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER TEN – SEALING FATE**

Yugi was breathing hard as he made a mad dash through the hallways of the school, Draco huffing and puffing along side him. The both of them had woken up later than they intended; so late that they did not even have a chance to get anything for breakfast, and have any hope of making it to their Ancient Egyptian Magic class at a decent time.

The older boy glanced over at his companion, who was red faced from all the running. The professor of the class, Shadi, had requested that Draco transfer into his class the first day of school. He was a bit hesitant, but eventually agreed to it, hoping that maybe by taking the class he would be able to understand the new power he had been saddled with.

Yugi turned back to the path ahead of him just in time to nearly collide with a suit of armor. He dodged just enough to avoid knocking it over, but not enough that he could prevent his books from flying out of his hands. Turning to pick them up treated him to the sight of his other self, who had already gathered most of the books, bent over trying to collect the rest.

"Go on," Yami Yugi insisted. "I'll catch up."

As much as Yugi wanted to stay and watch, getting to class as soon as humanly possible was – sadly – more important. The two boys dashed the rest of the way down the hall, the pharaoh's almost real footfalls soon thudding close behind. Reaching the door flanked by two floor-based torches, the three of them paused a moment to catch their breath before entering the tomb-like classroom. Inside, Professor Shadi was waiting calmly at his desk; notes were already displayed on the chalkboard, of which the meager amount of students that were in the class was scribbling down furiously. The Egyptian man turned an emotionless gaze toward the three of them.

"You are late, Pharaoh, Draco," he pointed out.

"Sorry," the three of them muttered guiltily.

Shadi just raised an eyebrow, not amused. "Expect extra homework at the end of class," he said simply, waving them off toward their seats. Yugi and Draco groaned as the three of them trudged to their seats.

They plopped down in seats between Marik and Yami Seto, even Yami Yugi. Ever since they each had had their first lesson with Professor Moody, the spirits had been making a habit of participating in classes. The various professors they had more or less already accepted their constant presence anyway, so there was really no point in just hiding in their respective Millennium Items for hours on end while their hikaris suffered through school.

Yugi reached into his backpack, pulling out his textbook and writing utensils, when he noticed that their group was two short. Up, in the farthest corner near Shadi's desk – as far away from Marik as they could get – were Hermione and Aishisu. The spirit of the soothsayer looked like she was having a distressing mental conversation with her other half, if the expression on her face was any indication. Apparently even she did not agree with the way that Hermione had reacted a few nights ago in the common room.

"D'ya think Hermione-chan will ever apologize?" Yugi muttered to Marik out of the corner of his mouth.

"Doubtful," Marik muttered back, finishing up his notes. "She probably thinks it's all my fault. She was the one that went spastic."

The sound of Professor Shadi clearing his throat prevented Yugi from replying. Instead, he turned his thoughts inward, half focusing on the notes he was taking down as he spoke briefly with his other half.

_I hope this doesn't last long. Hermione-chan and Marik-kun apart is just… wrong. _

Yami Yugi mentally nodded in agreement. _I know, koibito, I know. _

-.oOOo.-

_Harry – _

_I'm flying north immediately. This news about your scar is  
the latest in a series of strange rumors that have reached  
me here. If it hurts again, go straight to Dumbledore –  
they're saying he's got Mad-Eye out of retirement, which  
means he's reading the signs, even if no one else is. _

_I'll be in touch soon. My best to everyone. Keep your eyes  
open Harry. _

Sirius

A few weeks later found Harry in the boy's dormitory, picking up what he needed for his afternoon classes before going down to lunch, when the letter had sidetracked him. During the summer, before he went to Ron's house and the Quidditch World Cup, he had awoken from a horrible nightmare with his scar throbbing worse than it ever had. His first instinct made him write to his godfather, Sirius Black, a wizard that had been wrongfully imprisoned in Azkaban. It had taken awhile for him to reply with the note that he just read for what had to be the umpteenth time, and the news that Sirius was going to be coming back to England did not thrill Harry very much. What if he got caught again? There was no way they could pull off another miraculous escape.

Sighing, Harry tucked the note under his mattress before heading out of the Gryffindor tower and down to the Great Hall. His friends were already waiting for him at the table, though Hermione was absent, having already stuffed food down her throat and left for the library.

Harry kept his gaze on Marik as he sat down, pitying the Egyptian boy. In the weeks that had passed, him and Hermione _still_ had not made up, and apparently it was starting to wear on Marik. He had dark bags of sleeplessness under his eyes, and he looked like he was going to snap in half if you gave him the slightest push.

"Marik, you look horrible," he pointed out, noticing that the older boy had hardly eaten anything either.

Marik just gave him a miserable look that was supposed to be a glare. "The tomb robber already pointed this out to me, thanks."

An easy smile came to Yami Yugi's face. "Yes," he confirmed. "I believe his exact words were, 'For Ra's sake, you baka Gravekeeper, go and fucking apologize to her already'!"

Marik flopped his head on the table, banging against it a couple times before wailing pathetically, "But I didn't _do_ anything…!"

Yugi patted him on the back while Draco exchanged disturbed expressions with Ron.

"Ron," the blonde boy began, "if I ever get a girlfriend, please kill me."

"Only if you do the same."

"Deal."

They shook on it for good measure as Harry rolled his eyes.

After coaxing Marik to eat something and to stop banging his head against the table, it was off to Defense Against the Dark Arts, which Harry had to admit – between last year and this year – was steadily becoming his favorite subject. It was amazing just how much Professor Moody knew about the various curses out there. He was an incredible instructor as well, just as good as Lupin, if not, better.

They entered the classroom, where Hermione was already sitting with Aishisu all the way in the back. Marik hesitated a moment, fighting a war with his own good common sense paired off with his ego against his humility. His common sense and ego overpowered that fight, and he ended up sitting down with Yugi and the others, momentarily putting her out of his mind.

Though, as it turned out, Marik would not have much of a chance to think about his problem with Hermione anyway. After taking role, Professor Moody announced that he would be placing each of them under the Imperius Curse, so as they understood what it could do and to learn how to resist the effects. Not only that, but he had an unusual choice for who to go first.

Yami Yugi gulped, pointing a finger at himself. "Me!"

Moody gave him a bland look. "Did I stutter, lad?" he returned. "Yes you. Think of it as an experiment; if it doesn't work on you because you're a spirit, I won't have to put it on the miss back there."

He nodded to where Aishisu and Hermione were sitting, both of whom looked highly perturbed by the whole idea.

Apparently, not only did the Unforgivable Curse work on spirits, but Yami Yugi had difficulty fighting it off as well. Not long after Moody shouted, "Imperio!" did he have the ancient pharaoh clucking about like a chicken. Yugi was close to tears from laughing so hard by the time the professor let him out of it, while Aishisu was just trying to pretend she did not know him.

"Not – _brrrgauk! ­_– funny, aibou," Yami Yugi muttered as he retook his seat, still shaking off the effects. Marik had a hand over his mouth, trying his hardest not to bust out laughing himself.

"If the tomb robber ever finds out, he'll never let you live it down," he said, his face breaking out into a grin as the pharaoh gave him a death glare.

"Then he better not find out about it," he returned, just as Dean Thomas started singing the national anthem under the curse's influence.

-.oOOo.-

Harry limped out of the class an hour later in the company of the others – sans Hermione, who probably zipped ahead to avoid Marik. The young wizard had been the only one able to resist the Imperius Curse's influence right away, though just barely. He had gotten his knees knocked up pretty good the first two times, thanks to the fact that Moody kept trying to get him to jump up on the desk.

"I never want to have to do that again – _brrrgauk!"_ Yami Yugi clucked, having more trouble shaking off the effects than anyone else did.

A shout came from behind them just then, and – much to the pharaoh's misfortune – Bakura and Yami Bakura ran up to join them.

"Oy, you guys," Marik greeted them. "Shame you're not in our house. You missed quite an entertaining Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson."

Marik grinned at Yami Yugi. If glares were bullets, the Egyptian boy would have been dead and buried with the firing squad still shooting at his grave. Both Yugi and Draco chuckled at the expression on the spirit's face while Marik backed away slowly.

"Must have been at the pharaoh's expense," Yami Bakura replied, grinning as said pharaoh cringed.

"None of your – _brrrgauk!_ – business, tomb robber!" he snapped in return.

Yami Bakura, however, just gave him a confused look. "Did you just make a _chicken_ noise…?"

"Anyway…" Bakura began, both him and Yugi pulling their respective other selves away from each other before blood started to fly, "We've got Care of Magical Creatures next. Hagrid's _still_ making us take care of those bloody blast-ended skrewts."

"Still?" Ron groaned, making a face as they started making their way down the hall. "I hate those things!"

The others idly started to banter back and forth (with the occasional clucking from Yami Yugi) as they neared the main foyer. Marik crossed his arms behind his head, loosing his mind in the endless ramble, until he caught sight of something in an adjoining hallway. Was that Hermione…?

Screwing up his courage, he left the others, not bothering to tell them what he was doing, and started down the hallway. He did not get very far, before someone suddenly collided into Hermione as she passed a classroom. Marik hid behind a statue, his eyes going wide as the boy apologized in a heavy Bulgarian accent.

Victor Krum stooped down to help Hermione pick up the books that had scattered when he bumped into her. She took the last book from him, a bit of a callous expression on her face.

"Thank you," she said coldly. "I'd imagine you need to get back to your fan club now."

Victor seemed to wince at her tone. "Actually, I vas looking for a place to hide from them."

Hermione paused a moment, surprised by his response. "Well…" she began, a bit uncertain. "I know a place… I could show you."

"Vould you?" he asked, sounding hopeful. Hermione smiled and nodded, letting him loop his arm about hers as she led him back down the hallway.

Marik stood there in his hiding place, watching them walk away numbly. An ache filled his chest, like someone had ripped out his heart and let an elephant trample all over it before shoving it back in. He was not stupid; he knew the only place in this school that held any kind of privacy was the hidden room him and Hermione had found one day during a free period. The only reason it was so private was because – as far as they knew – no one else was aware of its existence. It was their room, the room they always went to when they wanted to study in private or just have some alone time together. Now, she was showing…

Marik started to slowly make his way back to the common room, hoping Hagrid would forgive him for missing one lesson.

-.oOOo.-

Yugi, Yami Yugi, Harry, Ron, and Draco started walking back up to the Gryffindor tower that night after dinner. It was not until after Hagrid had said something during their Care of Magical Creatures lesson that any of them had noticed Marik was not with them anymore. The Egyptian had not shown for the class at all, or for supper even. Draco put a comforting hand on Yugi's shoulder, trying to cheer him up.

"Don't worry, Yugi," he said. "He might be in the common room. Maybe he was not feeling well after class and decided to sit it out?"

"I hope so…" he replied.

The group of Gryffindors reached their common room, only to see that a handful of fifth and fourth year students were meandering about, trying to get homework done or just chatting with their friends. Neville spotted them from where he was sitting on an armchair with his Herbology homework, and waved them over.

"I think Marik's in his bed upstairs," he said as they approached.

"Why do you say that?" Harry asked.

"Well," Neville began, closing his text book, "his bed curtains are drawn, and I think I heard him snoring or something. I couldn't really tell."

The five boys exchanged concerned looks, before Yami Yugi volunteered to check in on him. He ascended the staircase and made sure to open the door to the fourth year bedroom instead of trying to go through it – last time he tried to go through a door, he nearly bashed his nose in. Inside, it was just as Neville said it was. Marik's bed curtains were drawn tight, and a strange sort of half snoring, half whimpering sound was coming from behind them.

Frowning, the pharaoh stepped over to the bed and poked his head through the curtains. There was Marik, his body curled up in a fetal position, unconsciously hugged onto a damp pillow. Rishid the cat was curled up near his master's legs, and he let out a sad "meow" when he saw Yami Yugi. He sighed, not really knowing why the young Egyptian was like this, but he had a general idea. Coaxing Rishid to move, the pharaoh went over to Marik's spare cloths chest and pulled out an extra blanket, which he draped over him.

The pharaoh watched Marik a moment more, before closing the curtains once again and heading back downstairs. He was about to rejoin his friends by the fireside, when Hermione suddenly entered the common room, and he approached her instead. She paused as she saw him walk up to her, surprised.

"Hermione, I need to talk to Aishisu in private please," he requested simply.

Caught off guard by the request, Hermione nodded numbly before her hair suddenly blackened as Aishisu took over. The soothsayer let out a depressed sort of sigh, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Pharaoh, I already know what this is about," she pointed out.

"Then you know what I want to ask," Yami Yugi returned simply.

Aishisu sighed again. "I know, I know. She won't listen to me, though."

Yami Yugi blinked. "Won't listen to you? Is she really making that big of a deal about this whole 'spew' thing?"

The soothsayer just shook her head sadly. "No. It's not about that at all," she said, glancing over towards the fire to see that the others were also listening into the conversation. "Pharaoh, have you ever heard the phrase, 'If you love someone, let them go'?"

Yugi made a sound of protest from his seat. "You can't be serious…!"

Aishisu, however, nodded. "She's unsure of how she feels about Marik, and even she doesn't know why. I speculate that it might be because she feels he's so much older than she is."

"They're five years apart," Draco pointed out. "That's hardly a distance."

Again, the soothsayer sighed. "I know, I know," she said, before turning back to Yami Yugi. "I'll do what I can, but this is really something that they themselves need to straighten out."

-.oOOo.-

While everyone ate happily in the Great Hall that night barely a week before Halloween, he stood alone before the seemingly simply wooden cup. His fingers twitched in both nervousness and anticipation, as he wondered just what exactly would happen. Would he be chosen? Would he be given the chance to prove to himself and to her that he was worthy of her? Or would his name be skipped over, totally forgotten by both the schools and her?

Taking a steadying breath, he decided that there was no way that he could not try to find out. He calmed his fingers, reaching out to take the quill from the nearly empty well of ink and writing his name down on one of the last remaining pieces of parchment.

_Marik Ishitar_

He slipped the quill back into the well, before tossing his name into the blue flames of the Goblet of Fire. Standing before the cup a moment, he silently nodded and assured himself that he was justified, before heading off to dinner as if nothing happened… unaware that the crackling of the flames had sealed his fate…

_"Bye-bye, hikari-pretty!"_


	11. The Schools' Champions

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER ELEVEN – THE SCHOOLS' CHAMPIONS**

The morning of Saturday, October thirty-first found Marik pacing back and forth in the Gryffindor common room, upset by the mess he had just gotten himself into. Now that he had had a chance to sleep on it, he realized what a dumb idea it was to try and impress Hermione by entering the Triwizards Tournament. He really should have known that some kind of stupid, egotistical thing was not going to impress her. Now he was stuck; his only hope was that he would not get chosen as the Hogwarts champion.

Marik stopped his pacing and sighed, running his hand through his hair before deciding to go down for a late lunch. Before he could leave the common room, however, the portrait door swung open to admit the girl that had occupied his thoughts longer than most people had. He put a friendly smile on his face.

"Good morning, Hermi…chan…"

Hermione outright ignored him, walking past him briskly to get to the fourth year girl's dormitory. Marik rubbed his forehead, trying to massage away a headache that was starting to grow. Then again, that tournament was starting to sound really good right about now…

Deciding that dwelling on it would be pointless, Marik left the common room and made his way through the halls of the school for that late lunch he thought of having. He almost made it to Great Hall, when he ran into the one person that was successfully continuing to get under his skin.

Viktor Krum.

The Egyptian balled his hands into fists, trying desperately to resist the urge to slug the Bulgarian. After Ron had told him all about how great Viktor was at the Quidditch Cup, Marik had taken a liking to him, admired him even. Now, however, it was different. Now, the Quidditch player had come in contact with his girlfriend, who had obviously taken a liking to him as well. Now it was personal; he was competition…

…and he needed to _go! _

His common sense loosing this battle, Marik was about to go up and confront the Bulgarian, when two arms looped around each of his arms. Surprised, he looked on either side to see both Bakura and Yami Bakura steering him away from what probably would have ended in a fistfight.

"Now, now, Gravekeeper," the tomb robber admonished. "We can't just go around beating up our ex-girlfriend's boyfriend, now can we?"

Marik glared, allowing the two of them to guide him down another entrance to the Great Hall. "How do you…?"

"Marik-kun, this is my other half we're talking about," Bakura supplied. "I'm surprised he doesn't have eyes in the back of his head."

A thoughtful look crossed Yami Bakura's face. "No, I don't… but that'd be awfully damn useful. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find a pair, would you?"

Marik wanted to slap one of them, or both, though Ryou was not really doing anything but following his other self's lead. He pulled his arms out of their grasps, frustrated. "Look, you guys, why don't you go torture the pharaoh, or something?"

Yami Bakura gave him a look, before he shrugged and motioned to his hikari. "C'mon, I think his highness-ness is in a broom closet."

Bakura blinked. "Why would he be in a broom closet?"

Both Marik and the tomb robber gave him a bland look. "Don't tell me you're that ignorant…" Yami Bakura replied, grabbing Bakura by the arm and dragging him off.

Marik sighed as the two of them left. Yep, that tournament was _definitely_ starting to look good right now…

-.oOOo.-

Hermione made her way down the halls to the library, Aishisu following silently behind. It was getting harder and harder to stay away from Marik, despite that she did try very hard to do so, though it did not help that sometimes she just wanted to throw herself at him and swear she would never do anything like that again. Maybe starting a relationship with Viktor would help her overcome that problem…? True, he was a very nice young man, though it would help if he could pronounce her name properly…

She turned a corner and stopped dead in her tracks, with Aishisu almost plowing into her from behind. Standing hand-in-hand in the middle of the empty hallway was Seto and that veela. Hermione backed up a bit, hiding behind the bend as she watched the two of them. The veela said something that made the young Japanese businessman turn an interesting shade of red, before reaching up on her toes to give him a light peck on the cheek. She walked off, waving good-bye to him and he did the same, an odd sort of lazy smile that looked out of place on his face.

"I've got to stop this," Hermione whispered to her other half. "Seto doesn't know about the veela. He doesn't know that she's luring him in!"

"It doesn't look that way to me…" Aishisu observed, but Hermione did not hear her as she started to march off to where Seto was standing. Sighing, the soothsayer hurried to follow her, not wanting to get dragged down the hallway.

Seto turned as he heard Hermione approach, surprised to see her there. He greeted her pleasantly – which that in itself was a surprise – but she just waved it off.

"Seto, you really shouldn't see that girl," she stated brusquely. "Don't you know what a veela _does?" _

The young businessman frowned, both at her tone and at the topic. "No, I don't. Fleur seems normal enough to me."

Hermione made a face. _"Fleur_ is just making you like her!"

Seto raised an eyebrow. "I beg your pardon?"

"That's what a veela does," she explained urgently. "They're temptresses that have a natural ability to lure men towards them. In ancient times, they were known to seduce men to their _deaths!" _

Seto's frown deepened as he crossed his arms. "I think you're being a little paranoid."

"And I think you're not taking this seriously!" Hermione replied. "She luring you in, and she's going to break your heart in the end."

The older boy rolled his eyes as he turned away from her, shaking his head slightly. A long moment passed where it seemed like Seto was considering something, before he turned to face her again. The expression on his face was resolute, as if he was more than positive with the decision he had reached.

"I don't care what she is," he stated simply.

Hermione blinked, surprised by his response. "How could you not…?"

Seto smiled softly at that. "Because… I know she isn't doing anything to make me like her. She doesn't have to. I…"

He trailed off at that, as if the words he wanted to say next were not in his vocabulary. Instead, he rammed his hands into his pockets, muttering, "See you," before walking past her on his way back to his dormitory. Hermione stood shock still in the center of the hallway, her brain trying desperately to process what just happened.

"But… but…" she stammered. "How could he even be _sure?_ How could he not _care?" _

Aishisu smiled softly. "My light, when you love someone deeply enough, there are no answers. You just know these things."

Hermione paused a moment, biting her lip in thought. The soothsayer observed her carefully, gauging her reaction to those words, hoping they would sink in…

No such luck; the young girl just gripped her books close to her chest and started walking off again.

"Well, if he's so sure, then I guess it's none of my business," she said over her shoulder, invoking another sigh out of Aishisu. She started to follow her light half again, wondering why she ended up with such a stubborn host.

-.oOOo.-

The gentle autumn breezes blew through the grounds of Hogwarts castle, rustling the multicolored leaves on the trees they still clung to. The rustling gently faded away, like the decrescendo of a song, only to crescendo once again a moment later. Yami Yugi sat under one of these unique music makers, a soft smile on his face as he watched a group of first year student playing with the tentacles of the octopus that lived in the lake. His aibou was reclining comfortably in his lap, reading a small textbook, and the pharaoh took the opportunity to run his hands through the shorter boy's hair. Yugi hummed in appreciation, before closing the book and setting it aside in favor of snuggling closer to his darker half.

"Tonight's the night, isn't it?" he asked, yawning lazily. "Tonight's when we're going to find out who's going to be the champions in the Triwizard's Tournament."

"Hai," Yami Yugi agreed, tilting his head to smile where his hikari could see. "Anxious?"

Yugi shrugged. "Not really. Honestly, I'd like it if you didn't get picked for it."

The pharaoh frowned. "Then why did you make such a big deal about me entering?"

Yugi treated him with a heart-melting smile. "Because, mou hitori no boku, I want you to do everything that you want to do. You're getting the chance to live your own life now, and I don't want you to be held back."

He poked him in the arm for emphasis. Yami Yugi chuckled slightly, holding onto Yugi tightly.

"I live this life for you…" he murmured. "You're the only thing worth living for for me… my koibi—"

The pharaoh was cut off as suddenly both him and his hikari found themselves drenched in a rather drastic downpour. Looking around, it did not take long to figure out that said downpour was only focused on them… and the giggles and hoots of laughter from the tree above them were also a good indicator of who did it. Yami Yugi stood up, shaking an angry fist at the two white haired individuals.

"I swear to Ra, tomb robber!" he snarled. "I'm sending you _both _to the Shadow Realm next time!"

Bakura fought back his giggles, an apologetic look on his face. "Gomennasai, Yami Yugi-kun, but he made me go along with this!"

Yami Bakura gave his hikari a horrified look. "No I didn't, you sneak!" he exclaimed. "It was your idea!"

The two of them burst into fresh laughter once again. Grumbling under his breath, Yami Yugi picked up his hikari – who was shivering from the combined cold water and cool breeze – and stalked off to the castle.

"You know, mou hitori no boku," Yugi began. "Bakura-kun's starting to scare me. He's acting a lot like his other self lately."

Yami Yugi frowned bitterly. "I noticed."

-.oOOo.-

Normally, the Halloween feast was something that no one really wanted to end. That night, however, it seemed to take twice as long as it normally did, especially for Marik, who was twitching with nervous anticipation as he ate. Yami Yugi was anxious too and was showing it through his appetite – he had already polished off two chicken legs and was well on his way to finishing a third. Yugi urged him to slow down as the Gravekeeper craned his head around to see Yami Bakura acting quite the opposite, having maybe eaten half a dinner roll. Bakura kept urging him to eat more, but the tomb robber shook his head, a squeamish look on his face.

"Gosh, I'm nervous," Ron said, nibbling on a pumpkin pasty. "I wonder who'll be picked for our school."

"I hope it's a Gryffindor," Hermione offered. She had been going out of her way to not look at Marik throughout the whole meal, no matter how hard he would make it for her to do so.

"Just as long as it isn't a Slytherin," Draco muttered. "I can just imagine how much Ecillia would gloat. Who do you think will get chosen, Harry?"

Harry, however, was not paying attention. His eyes were on Marik, who almost seemed to be sweating in his nervousness.

"Are you okay, Marik?" he asked, drawing the Egyptian's attention. Marik bit his lip; he had not told the others he had entered. He did not want to worry them. Besides, he probably would not get picked anyway. The tomb robber was probably better suited for something like this.

"I'm fine," he answered, forcing himself to calm down. "Just a little anxious to see who gets picked, that's all."

Not long after he finished saying that, did the plates clear away as the feast ended. Marik gulped softly as Dumbledore stood up from his seat. On either side of him were the headmasters of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang, Madame Maxime – the giant woman – and Professor Karkaroff – the severe looking man that could probably be a poster model for the Death Eaters, in Marik's opinion anyway. Also sitting at the professors' table were two men that Ron had pointed out to them before when they had sat down at the start of the feast; Ludo Bagman, the head of the Magical Games Department or something like that at the Ministry of Magic, and Barty Crouch, whom Ron only identified as his older brother, Percy's, boss.

The Goblet of Fire had been moved to sit before the professors' table, and Dumbledore moved to stand before it.

"The goblet is almost ready to make its decision," he stated, his voice carrying clear to the end of the room thanks to the hush that had fallen over the crowd of students. "When the champions' names are called, I would ask them to please come up to the top of the Hall, walk along the staff table, and go through the next chamber, where they will be receiving their first instructions."

Marik's insides twisted up into a little ball as the elderly headmaster waved his wand, snuffing out all the candles except those in the floating pumpkins above. Only the light of the blue flames from the goblet gave any significant light, making everyone around him appear ghostly.

"Any second…" Lee Jordan murmured, while Yami Yugi practically dug a hole into the wooden table with his nails.

Suddenly, the flames glared red, and with a _pop,_ a charred piece of parchment came fluttering out before the flame turned blue once more. Dumbledore reached out and caught it with ease.

"The champion for Durmstrang," he called out, "will be Viktor Krum!"

A swarm of applause broke over the crowd as the Bulgarian Quidditch player got up from his seat, Marik glaring at him the whole time. The only time the Egyptian stopped was when he disappeared behind the door to the next chamber, and even then he uttered a rather foul curse for good measure.

The clapping died down again just as a second piece of parchment shot out of the goblet.

"The champion for Beauxbatons," Dumbledore announced after catching it, "is Fleur Delacour!"

Marik turned to the Ravenclaw table where the Beauxbatons students were sitting, surprised to see the girl Seto had been hanging out with stand up from her seat. Seto held onto her hand for a moment – Marik suspected he was wishing her luck – before she went off to join Viktor in the other room.

"Good thing Seto didn't enter," Yugi commented. "His luck, he probably would have been chosen."

"Yeah, his luck," Marik replied a bit dully, unconsciously tapping his foot in nervousness. It was the Hogwarts champion next, and he still was not sure if he seriously wanted to be in the tournament or not. He supposed if he got chosen, then he got chosen; at least that would give him a chance to one-up that damned Viktor Krum…

Marik's breath froze in his throat as the flames in the goblet turned red again. His eyes grew wide, watching the piece of parchment that fluttered out slowly drift down to Dumbledore's waiting hand. The headmaster read the name on it, a bit of a smile coming to his face. Marik bit his lip, digging his fingers into his palms; just come out and say it already…!

"The champion for Hogwarts…" Dumbledore started, pausing for dramatic effect. "Is Marik Ishitar!"

The applause that exploded from the Gryffindor table alone was deafening. Nearly all of his fellow classmates had jumped to their feet, screaming and stamping, while Marik just sat there. "Dumbfounded" would have been an understatement for how he felt about all this. He glanced over to the Hufflepuff table, where he could see Yami Bakura yelling something incoherent over the applause, though he suspected it had something to do with murdering him for not mentioning that he entered the tournament. Closer to home, Yami Yugi was staring at him, stunned; almost as if he did not know whether to congratulate him or strangle him. Hermione was also staring at him, shock the reigning emotion on her face.

Marik smirked as he got up. Well, at least entering had accomplished getting her to look at him.

He had just about made it to the door of the adjoining chamber, when he heard the _pop_ of the Goblet of Fire once again. Turning in surprise, he watched as another piece of parchment was shot up into the air. On a reflex, Dumbledore caught it, his expression souring when he saw the name on it. A long stretch of silence followed, and Marik was itching with curiosity as to what was on the slip. There were only supposed to be three wizards entering the tournament – it was not called the _Tri_wizards Tournament for nothing, after all – so why had a forth name been shot out of the goblet…?

Dumbledore cleared his throat, before announcing, "Harry Potter…"

-.oOOo.-

Harry followed Marik back to the common room that night, his feet feeling like both of them were nothing more than lead weights. Someone had entered his name for the soul purpose of him getting into the tournament… but why? Was there someone that wanted to kill him so badly that they would risk tampering with a highly magical device such as the goblet, just so it would spit out his name…?

Marik watched the younger boy out of the corner of his eye, concerned. This was really bad; despite what Harry had been through so far, the Gravekeeper was not a hundred percent sure that he could handle what this tournament was supposed to dish out. If all the rumors were true, then it was going to be dangerous… _very _dangerous.

Marik turned around, making Harry stop in his tracks.

"You going to be okay?" he asked.

Harry blinked. "I… I don't know…"

"Look, if it's any consolation, I know that you didn't put that name in that goblet," Marik stated. "There's no way you could have, especially considering that it spit out your name _after_ a Hogwarts champion was already decided. Do you know how to do that, 'cause I sure as hell don't."

Harry let out a frustrated sigh, letting it take his tension with it. "Thanks, Marik. I'm glad _someone_ doesn't think I did this on purpose."

Marik nodded. "Look… I know Dumbledore told us not to help each other with the tasks. But if you need help just for you… then come to me, okay? You know I'll be there to give you support."

Harry smiled what had to be the first true smile he had since his name got called out. "Thanks, Marik."

The Gravekeeper gave him a thumbs up. "No prob!" he stated. "Now, knowing the Weasley twins, they probably have one helluva party going on up in the common room…"

-.oOOo.-

Bakura laid spread out on his back that night in the Hufflepuff forth year boy's dorm, the comforting embrace of sleep eluding him. He sighed and rolled over, wishing he had someone he could talk to. Well, he had his other half, but he had stormed into his Soul Room after Marik was chosen as a champion and had not come back out. Biting his lip, he rolled over to his other side; would it be wise to bother with the tomb robber at this hour? Probably not, but…

Deciding he had better do something before he lost his nerve, he retreated into his own Soul Room. Ignoring the toys and various occult paraphernalia that littered the room, he walked over to the door and opened it, revealing the Soul Corridor beyond.

Bakura walked up to Yami Bakura's Door and hesitated again. He had never been in his other self's Soul Room before, and he was almost afraid of what he would find there. To say that the tomb robber had a bit of a… _disturbing_ mind was an understatement. Knowing the spirit, his room was either filled with gold and other treasures, or dead bodies.

He gulped as he reached for the handle. "You can do this, Bakura," he muttered to himself. "It's not like it's real or anything. It's all in your mind…"

With that said, he twisted the handle and opened the Door…

What he saw on the other side was far beyond what he expected to see. His bare feet crunched on sand as he stepped into a scene that looked like it was derived directly from Egypt's past. Up above, stars dotted a cloudless night sky. A small adobe hut sat unassumingly in what seemed to be the "center" of the space. Someone had left out long dried laundry, and it swayed gently in a breeze that could not be felt. There were similar huts dotting here and there a short distance away that eventually came together to form a fairly large town, though Bakura had a suspicion that he could walk for as long as he wanted to, and he would not get any closer to the other huts.

"This must be…" Bakura muttered to himself. "Kuru Eruna…"

"Who's there?" someone demanded, making him nearly jump out of his skin. Yami Bakura revealed himself from behind the small hut in the center. The tomb robber rolled his eyes when he saw him.

"Oh, it's just you," he replied.

"Don't sound like you're happy to see me or anything," Bakura replied dryly, walking up to him.

Yami Bakura rolled his eyes again. "What do you want?"

"I'm worried," Bakura stated, ignoring his other self's manner.

"About Marik," the tomb robber replied. It was not a question.

"Hai," he confirmed. "I'm worried he may have entered the tournament for the wrong reasons."

Yami Bakura waved a dismissive hand. "That guy's not thinking with the right head," he replied. "Even when he does manage to use that brain of his, it gets him in trouble anyway, so you could say that this was inevitable."

Bakura gave him a withering glance. "Just like it was inevitable for him to be taken over by a psycho?"

"Just because we had no clue, doesn't mean it wasn't inevitable."

Now, it was Bakura's turn to roll his eyes.

"Look, all I'm saying is that we can't not expect what will happen, when we already know it will," the tomb robber continued. "When you found out Marik and Hermione had a fight, did you think he would try to do something stupid to get her back?"

"I thought he would try to do normal drastic things," Bakura replied, "like getting her chocolates or trying to sing. I didn't think he would try to do _this." _

Yami Bakura frowned. "Fools in love. I swear, he's no different than the pharaoh."

Bakura crossed his arms. "But Yugi and Panseru make a cute couple," he said in his friends' defense. The tomb robber just grinned devilishly.

"Don't get any ideas."

Bakura made a face at the thought. "Believe me, I'm not."

The spirit sniggered before saying, "Anyway, let the Gravekeeper do what he wants to do. If he makes an idiot out of himself, we can all laugh about it. If he gets in trouble, we'll respond accordingly, fair?"

Bakura muttered an, "I suppose," before turning around to go back to his own Soul Room. He paused a moment, however, seeing something strange. Behind him was one open Door, the Door he had used to get into the tomb robber's Soul Room in the first place. Right next to it, however, was another Door, this one closed. He frowned at it – he knew he hadn't seen it out in the Corridor – before turning back to his other self.

"Where does that one go to?"

Yami Bakura hesitated a moment. He seemed as if he was going to tell him it was none of his business, but quickly changed his mind.

"That… was _his_ Soul Room," he answered quietly.

Bakura whirled back to look at it, surprised. "It's still here!"

There was a long pause, and he looked over his shoulder to see that Yami Bakura was looking down at his feet, kicking at the ground slightly.

"I'm afraid to open it," he said finally. "I know he's gone… but… I don't want to know what's on the other side of that door."

Bakura turned around to face his other self fully, surprised by the admission. He had always been under the impression that his other self was not afraid of anything; that the tomb robber had been through so much already that there was not anything left for him to be scared off. To find out this, to find that he did have something that made him afraid… it made him seem…

Human…

"Anyway, I meant to tell you," Yami Bakura continued, snapping out of it. "If you come up with any other ways to torture his highness-ness, don't be afraid to share them."

Bakura smiled softly. "No problem."


	12. The Weighing of the Wands

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER TWELEVE – THE WEIGHING OF THE WANDS**

_Dear Sirius, _

_You told me to keep you posted on what's  
happening at Hogwarts, so here goes – I don't  
know if you've heard, but the Triwizard  
Tournament's happening this year and on  
Saturday night I got picked as a fourth  
champion. I don't know who put my name in the  
Goblet of Fire, because I didn't. The other  
Hogwarts champion is Marik, oddly enough. _

_Hope you're okay, and Buckbeak – _**_Harry_**

Harry stared at the letter he just wrote, wondering if there was anything else he should add. He was desperate to tell Sirius just how much the thought of having to participate in the tournament was driving him crazy, but he did not want to get all mushy in a letter. Instead, he rolled it up and stood from his seat, brushing straw off of his robes. He was in the school Owlery, as he found that was a safer place to write a letter to his godfather than the common room or anywhere else for that matter.

Hedwig, his white barn owl, fluttered down to take the letter, but he motioned her away.

"Sorry, old friend," he apologized, "I have to use one of the school's owls. You'd be too obvious."

Hedwig hooted indignantly, before fluttering up at the rafters, refusing to come down. Harry sighed, wishing something would go right for once.

After sending a brown owl on its way with his note, he left the Owlery and went out onto the school grounds, relishing the unusual warmth of that first November morning. Maybe things would not be as bad as he and everyone else feared. Just maybe, everything would be all right… who knows? Maybe he would even win the tournament.

He was about to head off to the lake, where Yugi and the others said they were going to be hanging out, when he heard a shout from behind him. There was Ecillia and her goons, much to Harry's misfortune, and she had that usual sneer on her face. He just gave her a bland look as the three of them stopped before him.

"Ah, it's the _other_ champion," she said to Crabbe and Goyle, though she was looking at Harry. "Got your autograph books, boys? I reckon you should get his signature now, because I doubt he's going to be around much longer. Half the Triwizard champions have ended up dead. How long do you think you'll last, Pothead? Ten minutes into the first task would be my guess."

Crabbe and Goyle guffawed stupidly at Ecillia's banter, invoking Harry to roll his eyes. He was about to shoot back at her with a foul remark, but someone behind the three Slytherin's beat him to it.

"Don't you think you should be bouncing along, little ferret?"

Ecillia whirled, a death glare on her face, to see Yami Bakura and Bakura standing behind them. Both of them where standing with their arms crossed, glaring daggers right back at her. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, before stalking back toward the castle, Crabbe and Goyle in tow as usual. Yami Bakura gave her back a one fingered salute, before turning back to Harry.

"Hey, how much to d'ya think I'd have to give Moody so he'd turn her into a ferret again?" he asked, a wicked grin on his face.

Harry grinned as well. "Knowing Moody, you probably wouldn't have to give him anything."

Bakura just shook his head. "Normally I'd say that wasn't nice, but if anyone deserved to be humiliated…"

Yami Bakura wrapped an arm around his hikari's neck. "Look at it this way, Ryou," he said, his voice lowered into a conspiratorial whisper, "if he turns her into a ferret again… _we _could have some fun with _her…_ I hear ferrets are quite flexible creatures…"

Bakura giggled. "You're evil."

Yami Bakura puffed his chest out proudly. "Damn straight!"

Harry, however, was giving Bakura a strange look. "You know, you're starting to act an awful lot like him," he pointed out, motioning to the tomb robber. The expression on the white-haired boy's face went from horrified, to disbelief, and back to horrified.

"Am I really?" he asked, shocked by the very suggestion of it.

Yami Bakura patted the boy on the back so hard he nearly knocked him off his feet. "C'mon, Ryou, that's not a bad thing! Before you know it, I'll be showing you how to steal from Snape's storerooms and not get caught."

Bakura seemed to turn a sickly green at the thought.

-.oOOo.-

Things only got worse for Harry as the days ticked away. It seemed as if the whole school had turned against him, all because someone else had put his name in that stupid goblet. Fred and George tried to cheer him up as best they could. Tricking him into eating one of their Canary Custards did not help much, however. Both Marik – who was more than a little miffed that everyone was treating one of his best friends so poorly – and Hermione were doing everything they could to keep Harry's spirits high; and because of this, they were often in close contact with one another, which eventually led to the two of them talking to one another again. Harry could still get a sense of bad air about them as they talked, but at least they were _trying_ to get along again.

The Slytherins were really coming down on Harry the hardest, which was no surprise. One day, when Harry, Hermione, and Marik arrived for their double Potions lesson with the detestable house, they found Ecillia and her entourage waiting for them, along with several others. They were all wearing an extra badge on their robes, each bearing the same message in glowing red letters.

**SUPPORT ****MARIK ISHITAR –  
****THE ****REAL****HOGWARTS CHAMPION! **

Marik fumed at the message, uttering promises of Ecillia's death under his breath.

"Like them, Pothead?" Ecillia asked, that predatory grin on her face that made Harry want to knock her teeth out. "That isn't all they do, either. Look!"

She pressed her badge, and the message faded away, only to be replaced by another one.

**POTTER STINKS **

That was the last straw for Marik. As the other Slytherins laughed and started flashing _POTTER STINKS_ with their own buttons, he stood before Harry and Hermione, ignoring their protests. He pulled out his wand, pointing it at Ecillia, and the laughter died away, some even backing up.

"Going to teach me a lesson, Ishitar?" she sneered, pulling out her wand. "Moody's not here to look after you or your Mudblood girlfriend…"

Marik snapped at that. He acted, but Ecillia had already started moving…

"Furnunculus!" Marik shouted.

"Densaugeo!" Ecillia yelled.

The blasts from both wands hit each other in midair and ricocheted off. Marik's spell hit Goyle straight in the face, while Ecillia's blasted Hermione. The thick Slytherin bellowed as boils sprung up all over his face, while Hermione let out a panic stricken cry. Her teeth, which were already larger than normal to begin with, started growing at an alarming rate. Marik swore under his breath, going over to help her hide it as best he could; this was _not_ going to help him get her back.

"What is all this noise about?"

Marik held back a groan; perfect time for Snape to show up…

Ecillia jumped to explain. "Ishitar attacked me, sir –"

"We attacked each other, you git," Marik snarled.

"—and he hit Goyle. Look!"

Snape looked over at Goyle and rolled his eyes. "Hospital wing, Goyle."

"But Ecillia got Hermione," Harry added as Draco, Yugi, and Yami Yugi showed up at the class. "Look."

He motioned over to where Hermione's teeth were poking out, despite her and Marik's best efforts to keep them covered. Again, Snape rolled his eyes, though this time there was a bit of a sneer on his face.

"I see no difference."

Tears welded up in Hermione's eyes before she turned and ran off for the Hospital Wing. Draco gave his friends a concerned look before following her, though the four of them missed it. Harry, Yugi, Marik, and Yami Yugi were shouting at Snape. It was lucky that there was an echo in that corridor, or the Potions Master would have heard _exactly_ what they were calling him. As it was, he still probably got the gist of it.

"Detentions for Potter, Ishitar, and Mutou," he said, before glaring at Yami Yugi. "Both of you. And fifty points from Gryffindor. Now get inside before I make it a weeks worth of detention."

-.oOOo.-

Fortunately for Marik and Harry, Colin Creevey of all people, who was sent to call them out of class for the sake of the Triwizard Tournament, saved them from sitting through the whole dastardly Potions lesson. The two of them entered the classroom they were needed in as Colin waved good-bye, wishing them luck as he did so.

"I'll have to ask Dumbledore if I can send Snape to the Shadow Realm," Marik muttered, glaring at Viktor Krum as they entered. "He needs to be trapped in his head again."

"No kidding," Harry groaned as the two of them sat down next to Fleur Delacour. The Egyptian glanced at her for a moment, before wiping his hand off on his slacks and offering it to her to shake.

"Hi!" he greeted cheerfully. "I'm Marik and this is Harry. We're Seto's friends."

She looked at his hand a bit distastefully, but did not shake it. "Pleasure," she replied coldly.

Marik made a face, and both him and Harry backed off, sliding their chairs away from her. No wonder her and Seto seemed to get along so well; they were both as cold as ice!

Suddenly, a witch dressed in magenta robes, with the gaudiest glasses either of them had ever seen balanced on her nose, approached them, eyeing Harry.

"Harry Potter, Rita Skeeter from the Daily Prophet," she introduced, grabbing his hand with one of her mannish ones and shaking it violently. "Might I have a word with you about your part in the tournament?"

"Er…"

"Wonderful!" she exclaimed before he even had a chance to finish. She pulled him up out of his seat and carted him off, leaving Marik blinking in confusion in her wake. The Egyptian was going to get up and try to save his friend, when Dumbledore entered the room in the company of Ludo Bagman. The game director looked around, confused.

"Potter didn't show up yet?" he asked.

"Some Rita Skeeter woman kidnapped him," Marik answered as Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, and Mr. Ollivander of Ollivanders (Makers of Fine Wands since 382 BC) of all people entered the room.

Professor Dumbledore sighed tiredly. "I'll recover him," he replied, before leaving.

He returned not a moment later, with a very harassed and relieved looking Harry. The young wizard quickly scooted off to sit back down next to Marik just as Rita entered the room once again. The loud looking woman settled down in a seat in the corner away from the others, taking out a strange quill and a long slip of parchment. Dumbledore and the other professors sat down at a velvet-covered table, before the elderly headmaster waved toward Mr. Ollivander.

"I would like to introduce Mr. Ollivander," he said. "He will be checking your wands to make sure they are in good condition for the tournament."

Harry looked at the elderly wizard in surprise as Marik chuckled at his reaction.

"Mademoiselle Delacour, could we have you first?" Mr. Ollivander asked. Fleur stood immediately and handed her wand to him. He inspected the stick of wood with a careful eye, twirling it between his fingers. "Hum… Nine inches, inflexible, rosewood, containing… oh my…"

"An 'air from ze head of a veela," she said for him. "One of my grandmuzzer's."

Marik and Harry's eyes grew wide at the revelation. She really was half veela, just like Bakura and Yami Bakura said! Mr. Ollivander had a bunch of flowers shoot out of the end of her wand, before handing it back to her. She sat down, frowning at the two boys' expressions.

"Mr. Ishitar, you're next," he announced. Marik stood up, handing over his wand a bit sheepishly, noticing that his did not look nearly as kept up with as Fleur's did. Mr. Ollivander noticed too, smiling easily as if he had expected it. "Ah, yes, I remember when you three came to the shop… young Mr. Mutou isn't still upset he broke the shop window, is he?"

Marik grinned. "Probably not, but I'll be happy to remind him."

Mr. Ollivander outright grinned at that. "Yes, I'm sure you will. Ah… Ebony and phoenix feather, eleven inches. You were the easiest to choose out of you three."

The elderly wizard waved the wand, shooting out a stream of slivery smoke rings before handing it back. Marik went to sit down as Viktor Krum was called up next. The Egyptian glared at him as he handed Mr. Ollivander his wand, looking like he did not want to part with it, even for a little while.

"Hum… hornbeam and dragon heartstring?" he asked. "Quite a bit thicker than normal, rather rigid. Ten and a quarter inches…"

Mr. Ollivander waved the wand, and with a bang like a gunshot, several small birds flew out from the end and out an open window. He handed the wand back, and Viktor quickly went back to his seat before the elderly wand maker motioned for the last champion, smiling pleasantly. Harry went up and handed over his wand, just as sheepish as Marik, because his seemed to be in worse shape.

"Ah, yes…" Mr. Ollivander muttered. "Holly and phoenix feather, eleven inches. I could never forget this wand…"

The wand maker took extra time to inspect his wand, fascinated by it. Harry bit his lip, hoping he would not reveal the secret behind his wand to the others. Glancing over at where Rita's quill was taking rapid fire notes, he had a feeling the writing instrument would just about die of excitement if that was let out. Finally, however, Mr. Ollivander shot out a stream of wine from the end and handed it back to him.

"Thank you all," Dumbledore said, standing up as Harry rejoined Marik. "You may go back to your lessons now… of perhaps it would be quicker to just go down to dinner, as they are just about over by now."

Just as everyone was about to get up, a man neither Harry nor Marik had noticed before jumped up, holding up a black camera and looked suspiciously like Colin Creevey.

"Photos, Dumbledore!" the man exclaimed. "Don't forget the photos!"

-.oOOo.-

Harry massaged his head as he walked to the Gryffindor common room with his friends – sans Hermione, whom he suspected was still in the hospital wing. That photo op had taken _forever!_ Not only that, but it had taken him ages to get away from that Skeeter woman; he was not in the mood to get dragged into another closet like she had done the first time.

Entering the common room, he shambled off to bed right away, where, to his pleasant surprise, a letter from Sirius was waiting for him. Looking around, he made sure no one else was in the room, before snatching the parchment off of his pillow and unrolling it.

_Harry – _

_I can't say everything I would like to in a letter,  
it's too risky in case the owl is intercepted – we  
need to talk face-to-face. Can you ensure that  
you are alone by the fire in Gryffindor Tower at  
one o' clock in the morning on the 22nd of  
November? _

_I know better than anyone that you can look after  
yourself, and while you're around Dumbledore and  
Moody I don't think anyone will be able to hurt you.  
However, someone seems to be having a good try.  
Entering you in that tournament would have been  
very risky, especially right under Dumbledore's nose. _

_Be on the watch, Harry. I still want to hear about  
anything unusual. Let me know about the 22nd of  
November as quickly as you can. _

_Sirius_

Harry frowned down at the note, wondering how the heck the fire was supposed to help the two of them get in touch with one another. He slid the note under his mattress to join the others just as Draco poked his head into the room.

"Just thought you might wanna know," he said. "Hermione's better now. She just came back from the hospital wing."

Harry sighed in relief and nodded. At least today did not have any damaging effects.


	13. Dragons!

**Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate **

**CHAPTER THIRTEEN – DRAGONS!**

The only thing that helped Harry keep going amidst the jeers from the Slytherins and the horror of the gradually approaching first task of the tournament, was the thought of speaking face to face with Sirius. It was the only thing in the hellish November month that was going the way it was supposed to, though he still did not know how exactly he was supposed to contact him.

Of course, things had to get worse. Deeming the day he had been "interviewed" by Rita Skeeter as one that would not be damaging was a little premature. The reporter had written an article that could only be described as downright awful. Somehow, she had managed to turn his "Err…"s and "Um…"s into one of the most inaccurate newspaper stories he had ever read.

I suppose I get my strength from my parents. I know  
they'd be very proud of me if they could see me now…  
Yes, sometimes at night I still cry about them, I'm not  
ashamed to admit it… I know nothing will hurt me  
during the tournament, because they're watching over  
me…

When Harry first heard that, thanks to Ron reading it aloud while the others sat around at lunch, he thought he was going to puke. Marik, though he admitted it was not funny, was laughing his rear end off. That was, until Ron read the next part; apparently, Skeeter had interviewed other people as well.

Harry has at last found love at Hogwarts. His close  
friend, Colin Creevey says that Harry is rarely seen  
out of the company of on Hermione Granger, a  
stunningly pretty Muggle-born girl who, like Harry, is  
one of the top students in the school.

_"Say what!"_ Marik demanded, standing up from his seat. _"CREEVEY!" _

Hermione hid her face as the Egyptian stalked off to talk to the mousy camera-boy wizard.

Then there was Snape's detention that Harry, Marik, Yugi, and Yami Yugi had to endure. The pharaoh looked like he was going to be sick when the Potion's Master said they had to pickle rats' brains in the dungeon for two hours. Yugi, after about two brains, _was_ sick. He ended up running off to the hospital wing, saved from the rest of the detention.

Everyone was so busy dealing with homework, the approaching first task, or avoiding ridicule, that their group had not gotten the chance to convene together. Their first opportunity to do so since the beginning of school was the Friday before the first task. The next day they would be going to Hogsmeade, and they took the chance to hang out at the library that evening.

Harry groaned as he flopped into a chair, tossing his bag to the floor, and having no intention of opening it to work on his homework. Marik followed suit, sitting between him and Hermione, though she edged a bit away from him before he could get the idea to put an arm around her. The Egyptian sighed as the others sat down as well, leaning forward to rest his elbows on the edge of the table instead.

"So, are you guys ready for the first task?" Seto asked, setting his laptop down on the table.

"No," Harry and Marik said at the same time.

"We don't even know what the first task _is,"_ Marik continued with a groan.

"Don't worry so much, Marik," Draco assured him, taking out his wand and some polish. "It shouldn't be that dangerous. I've heard they've had to really downsize the tournament. There have been too many deaths in the Triwizard Tournament. Ecillia wasn't kidding when she said half of the champions chosen for the tournament have died."

Harry gave the blonde boy a dull look as he started to polish his wand. "Thanks, Draco, that makes me feel so much better."

Yami Bakura opened his mouth to add his two cents to the conversation, when a loud tapping noise cut him off. The group looked around, confused, before Yami Yugi pointed out that it sounded like it was coming from Seto's computer. Yami Seto opened to cover of the laptop, to reveal an annoyed Noah Kaiba on the screen. The seemingly young aqua haired boy put his hands on his hips, glaring up at Seto.

"Otouto! I wish you wouldn't close this thing while it's still on!" he exclaimed, looking like he was trying to glare Seto down. "It's like I'm blind and deaf when you do that!"

Seto frowned. "What do you expect me to do? Turn it off?"

"Of course!" Noah exclaimed. "I need to sleep some… Hey, what are you doing? Se—"

Noah's mouth kept going, but no sound came out as Seto turned the sound off on the computer. Bakura shook his head as the computerized boy glared up at his younger brother, mouthing several swear words.

"You know, when he gets his own body, you're not going to be able to do that," Bakura pointed out. Seto just grinned.

"I know, that's why I'm enjoying this happy power while I can."

Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow, before looking at his hikari. "And you call me evil."

"You are," Bakura returned.

Yami Seto rolled his eyes as the tomb robber grabbed his hikari and gave him a nuggie from hell ("Evil am I? Try this!"), before reaching over to the computer and turning the sound back on. Noah glared at Seto, before sitting down on a chair in his computerized room.

"So, you guys are going to Hogsmeade tomorrow?" he asked. "I wish I could go too."

"Even when you do get your own body, I doubt you'll be able to come here," Yugi said, snuggling close to his other half. "I mean… if you didn't get a note before you… uh…"

Noah grinned. "I get it, Type A Yugi."

Ron raised an eyebrow, looking between the computer to Yugi. "Type A Yugi?"

"Don't ask," Yami Yugi muttered as Noah and Yugi giggled.

-.oOOo.-

Harry was looking forward to the trip to Hogsmeade. This year, he could go without risk of getting in trouble, because now he had a permission form to go. Despite this, he still wore his Invincibility Cloak to the village, walking around with Draco and Marik, unseen to the human eye. He watched as people wearing _Support Marik Ishitar! _badges walk past him, enjoying the fact that none of them turned to give him a snide remark.

The three of them emerged from Honeydukes Sweetshop not long after they arrived in the village, slurping the cream out of large chocolates. Draco looked over to where Harry was supposed to be, a little unnerved.

"I wish you would take that thing off," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth. "I feel like I'm talking to myself."

"Don't flap your mouth so much then," Harry replied. Marik chuckled as Draco pouted.

"C'mon, Harry-kun," the Egyptian boy urged. "It's not like anyone's gonna bother you here."

"Oh yeah?" Harry returned. "Look behind you."

Marik and Draco turned just in time to avoid being whacked by Rita Skeeter's large, crocodile-skin handbag. She did not even pause to apologize as she and her photographer made their way toward an inn on the other side of the village. The two visible boys gave their backs a dirty look.

"I heard she's staying at the village," Harry explained quietly. "She's probably going to come and watch the first task."

"Whoopee," Marik said dryly. "Just what we need; someone reporting how we managed to get ourselves splattered all over the school."

The three of them made their way to the Three Broomsticks next, with Harry still keeping his cloak on. He edged his way around the crowd, following Marik to a table while Draco went to get drinks. They managed to make it to an empty table without trodding on someone, Harry sitting down with a relieved sigh. They watched the various magical species crowding the tavern while waiting for their drinks.

"Must be a haven for these people, this village," Marik said idly as he watched a hag amble past.

"I suppose so," Harry returned. "This is the only all-wizard village left in this country."

Marik nodded. "When Bakura and I were with the Japanese wizards this summer, they told us there were only two left in Japan. Most of the wizards in that country stay in them. They hardly ever leave unless it's to visit family."

Harry frowned, though the other boy could not see. "Why?"

Marik shrugged. "I dunno. Old fear I guess. The Spanish Inquisitions and other persecutions had everyone freaked out during that time…" He trailed off, before rubbing the back of his neck. "At least, that's what it says in _Hogwarts, A History." _

Harry gave him a dull look as Draco returned with their drinks. "You need to get back together with Hermione already."

"No shit, Sherlock," Marik muttered, before downing half of his butterbeer in one gulp.

"You could always ask her to the Yule Ball," Draco pointed out, taking a sip from his own mug.

"The what ball?" Marik asked, confused.

"You mean you don't know?" Draco asked. "A Yule Ball is held every year there's a Triwizard Tournament. I suspect that's why we needed dress robes this year."

"So… you mean… this is a formal thing?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Draco replied, taking another sip. "There's dancing and everything."

Both Harry and Marik had the same horrified look on their faces. "I don't dance," they said at the same time.

Draco chuckled, pulling out his Defense Against the Dark Arts homework. "Well, you're going to have to," he said, looking over it. "The school champions lead off the first dance."

Both boys groaned, just as a large shadow fell over the three of them. They looked up, and up… and up, to see Hagrid standing over them. He had his usual large tankard to mead with him, and a beaming smile on his large face. Right next to him, quite dwarfed by the gargantuan man, was Professor Moody.

"Afternoon, boys," Hagrid said loudly.

"Afternoon, Hagrid," Draco returned. Marik was about to greet him as well, when something kicked the booth on the other side of theirs hard enough to feel it. He glared at it, wondering what the heck was going on over there.

Moody, however, bent over their table slightly, making a show of looking over Draco's homework. Instead of commenting on it, however, he said, "Nice cloak there, Potter."

Harry jumped, surprised, as Marik grunted when something kicked his seat again.

"Can your… uh…" Harry began.

"Yes, my eye can see through Invisibility Cloaks," Moody answered. "Bloody useful in that respect."

Marik growled as his seat got kicked again. "Can it see through this booth?" he asked. "I'm about to throttle whoever is on the other side."

Moody's eye swiveled over to look through the seat, just over Marik's shoulder. He made a face.

"Mutou and his girlfriend," the professor answered, a smirk on his lips. Draco had been in the middle of a sip from his butterbeer, which got spat back out because of his comment. Marik, however, just grinned sadistically.

"Professor, how durable is that eye of yours?" he asked.

Getting the idea, Moody grinned, popping his eye out (Draco and Harry turned away when he did), and handing it to the Egyptian boy. He looked at it a moment, watching it as the pupil roved about in his hand. Another wicked grin spread across his face.

"The tomb robber's gonna wish he had pictures of this," he said, before lobbing the eye up with enough height for it to land with a thud on the table in the other booth.

The screams that followed were beyond priceless. Yugi and Yami Yugi scrambled out of the booth, breathing hard from suddenly having an eye drop in on them. The pharaoh looked between the eye, to Moody, to Marik, back to the eye, and to Marik once more.

"You… you…!"

"Don't you think you two should wait until you're married to 'fool around' in public?" Moody asked as he went over to recover his eye. Marik was just trying his hardest to not fall off his seat in laughter as both the pharaoh and his hikari turned a vivid shade of red. The two of them stuttered for a moment, before deciding it wiser to save what little dignity they had left and retreated from the tavern.

Draco sighed as they left. "Something tells me I don't want to know what they were doing…" he muttered.

"You don't," Moody replied sourly, before walking out himself. Hagrid cleared his throat, before following the other professor's previous action and peering down at Draco's homework.

"Meet me at me cabin at midnight, lads," he said, glancing at Marik and where Harry was supposed to be pointedly. "Wear that cloak."

With that, he left, leaving a confused Marik and Harry behind.

"What does he need to show us?" Harry asked.

Marik just shrugged, befuddled. "I dunno," he said, before checking his watch. "Though, if he wants to see you at midnight, it's going to be cutting your meeting with Sirius awfully damn close."

Harry looked at his own watch, biting his lip. He was right; whatever it was that Hagrid wanted to show them, it had better be important.

-.oOOo.-

Quarter to midnight found Marik and Harry huddled under the Invisibility Cloak as they made their way to Hagrid's hut. Making it to the cabin was easy, as the grounds of Hogwarts where fairly quiet at night. The only thing different from the norm was the glow from the Beauxbaton's carriage off near the hut. From what they could tell, however, very few people were moving about inside; apparently, most of them had already gone to bed for the night.

The two of them reached the cabin and knocked, not taking off the cloak. A moment later, the giant man opened the door, looking about.

"You there, Harry, Marik?" he asked quietly.

"Yeah," Harry answered, keeping his voice low as well. "Hagrid, what –"

Hagrid, however, made a hushing noise, stepping out of the cabin fully. In the dim light, the two of them could see that he looked a bit… different. His cloths seemed cleaner, and he was wearing a flower that almost looked like an eggplant on his coat. While his beard and hair were still tangled, it looked as if he had made an effort to comb it, as was obvious by the comb teeth dangling from within the black mass.

"Got summat ter show yeh," he said. "Yeh shouldn' know, so keep it quiet."

Harry and Marik exchanged bewildered looks, before following the burly groundskeeper. To their surprise, he led them to the Beauxbaton's carriage, where he knocked on the door of it. Madame Maxime opened it soon after, smiling when she saw Hagrid.

"Ah, 'Agrid. It is time?" she asked.

"Bong-sewer," he said in return, beaming up at her as he helped her down the carriage steps.

The two giants walked off, and Marik made sure they were out of earshot before muttering, "What is this? First Seto, now Hagrid? Is everyone getting a girlfriend now that mine is deciding to be pissy?"

Harry shushed him, before the two of them set off to follow Hagrid and Madame Maxime. They were in for a long walk, and had to endure the giants flirting with each other as they made their way across the grounds. Just as Harry was about to give up and go back to Gryffindor tower so he would not miss his conversation with Sirius, a deafening roar resounded from behind a clump of trees. The two boys raced ahead of Hagrid, making sure to stay well out of their path… and that was when they saw them…

_Dragons! _

"Seto… is going… to freak…" Marik muttered under his breath.

It almost seemed unreal; four fully grown, absolutely enormous, vicious-looking dragons where fighting against their handlers. The beast reared up on their hind legs, shooting torrents of flame up into the air. One was silvery-blue with long, sharp horns, and was trying vainly to get a mouthful of the handlers on the ground. There was a smooth-scaled green one stamping about, and another that looked oddly like The God of Osiris with the exception of gold spines around its face was shooting mushroom-shaped clouds in the air. The last one was the most lizard-like, not the mention that it was jet black.

"Oy, there, Charlie!" Hagrid called suddenly, startling the two boys.

A red headed young man that could only be one of Ron's older brothers that had already graduated from Hogwarts left the handling of the dragons to his companions and went over to where Hagrid and Madame Maxime were standing. He greeted the two of them warmly.

"What breeds you got here, Charlie?" Hagrid asked.

"The black one's a Hungarian Horntail," Charlie explained. "I'd say that one was the most vicious out of the four. There's a Common Welsh Green right there, and the smaller blue-gray one, that a Swedish Short-Snout. The last one – the red one – that's a Chinese Fireball."

Marik's mouth was slack, hanging open in his disbelief. He turned to ask Harry what he thought of all this, when he spotted something odd in the trees. Pointing it out to his younger companion, he squinted to see that it was Professor Karkaroff of Durmstrang, hiding behind the trees and doing a poor job of trying not to be seen.

Before Harry could really say anything, Marik dragged him away, starting back up the lawn. Once they were well out of earshot, he explained himself.

"There was no need to stay there any longer," he said. "We know what the first task is now, and I bet you by tomorrow morning Fleur and Krum will as well. Besides, if we don't haul ass, you're going to be late for your meeting with Sirius."

-.oOOo.-

The next morning found Marik pacing about the common room, waiting for Harry to come down and tell him how his meeting with Sirius went the night before. He tried to stay focused on what he could have told the younger boy, but his mind kept drifting back to the dragons. How in the heck were they supposed to deal with a dragon? Especially ones that _huge!_ The only dragon he had ever seen come close to that height was the Blue Eyes White Dragon…

It was like someone flicked a light bulb on in his mind. He looked down at the Millennium Ring around his neck, before dashing out of the common room so fast, he almost ran over Draco as he was coming in.

"Slow down, you crazy Egyptian!" he called after him, but Marik did not take notice.

He tore through the hallways of the school, peeking in on all their usual hang out spots, before finally finding who he needed to talk to in the library. Yami Bakura was sitting at a table next to his hikari and across from Seto and Yami Seto, apparently discussing something. They stopped their conversation short as Marik ran in, out of breath.

"What's up, Gravekeeper?" the tomb robber asked, propping his feet up on the table. "You look like you saw a Blue Eyes White Dragon come to life."

Marik smirked. "Funny you should say that…"


	14. The First Task

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Dawn of Fate  
  
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There won't be a Q&A this time; this chapter's long enough, though it will be well worth it as A LOT happens in this chapter. Note that I changed the ordering of the dragons a bit... oh, and expect a clifie...  
  
::evil laugh::  
  
Read, enjoy, and then review!  
  
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CHAPTER FOURTEEN - THE FIRST TASK  
  
Yami Bakura had to admit; Marik's plan for getting past his dragon was quite simplistic and original. After all, how many other champions would think to summon a dragon to combat against another dragon? Probably none of them, given where they came from and the age they lived in. However, the Egyptian's plan more or less called for a miracle as well. It was Sunday morning, almost Sunday afternoon, at the moment, and the first task would be taking place Tuesday afternoon. That was a very limited amount of time to show someone who barely knew how to use their Millennium Item how to summon monsters from the Shadow Realm. To make matters worse, that was not the only bump in their path.  
  
"No way in HELL are you borrowing one of MY Blue Eyes White Dragons," Seto declared, the pitch of his voice, tone, and his stance stating that that was FINAL. The expression on Yami Seto's face all but said begging him for help was not going to get them anywhere either.  
  
Marik shook an angry fist, not the least bit pleased. "C'mon, you two! How the heck else am I supposed to go up against a DRAGON?! Say, 'Please don't kill me,' and hope it'll roll over and play dead?!"  
  
"Worth a shot," Yami Seto replied callously.  
  
Marik looked like he was going to knock the high priest flat, not caring that he would go through him. To his surprise, however, Yami Bakura put a hand on his shoulder, stopping him.  
  
"Look, Gravekeeper, I think you can get away without using the card," he said, forcing the Egyptian to sit in one of the library seats. "Since Moneybags -" Seto glared - "and his deck will be in close proximity to where you'll be going up against that thing, you'll be able to summon without having the physical card in your hand. It's a hell'uva lot harder though."  
  
Marik nodded. "I don't care; whatever it takes. I don't see what else I can do anyway."  
  
Bakura sighed, propping his head up with his hands. "We're going to need a VERY discreet place to practice..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Over the small time Marik had to learn how to summon a monster from the Shadow Realm, some of the panic brought on by the daunting task had washed away. Tuesday morning, however, it came back in full force, hitting him hardest in his gut. He stared down at his food at breakfast, afraid that if he ate anything he would be sick; then again, if he were sick, then he would miss out on this MESS he had gotten himself into...  
  
Then, Hermione chose to sit down at the table, opening up her S.P.E.W. notebook and pointedly ignoring him. He got a little bit of courage back after seeing that. It was not much, but it was enough to get him to swallow a small piece of toast.  
  
Somehow, he had managed to get past his morning classes. Looking back, he knew he would not be able to remember what exactly happened in those classes. His first thought was that he would get whatever homework he missed off of Hermione, but then he remembered that him and Hermione were not on good terms anymore.  
  
Sitting at lunch, forcing down a salad, he silently promised himself that he was going to ask her out to the Yule Ball as soon as he got the chance and make everything right again.  
  
Professor McGonagall came up to their table just as he finished what little he could eat of his salad. If anything, she seemed almost as nervous as Harry was. The younger wizard was sitting across from him, looking for all the world like he would rather be anywhere else. Marik did not blame him one bit.  
  
"Potter, Ishitar; you'll have to come down to the grounds now," the professor told them. "The champions have to get ready for the first task."  
  
Both Harry and Marik got up, their friends wishing them luck with concerned and/or worried expressions on their faces. The two Hogwarts champions followed Professor McGonagall out to the grounds, where she motioned them into a large red tent, erected at just the right height to block the view of the dragons.  
  
Marik felt his breakfast and his lunch hit rock bottom as he entered the tent. Fleur and Krum were already sitting down, and if their sickened expressions were any clue, they knew what they were going to be up against. Ludo Bagman was there as well, looking so absolutely cheerful that Marik wanted to go over to him and knock his flashing white teeth out.  
  
"Well, now that we're all assembled," Bagman began brightly, "it's time to fill you in! When the audience has assembled, I'm going to be offering you this bag -" He held up a small purple sack - "from which you'll each take a small model of what you're about to face. There are different... varieties, you see. You're goal is to COLLECT THE GOLDEN EGG! Don't forget this."  
  
Marik's mind was so numb, he was surprised he could even focus on remaining standing, not to mention remembering what the heck he was supposed to be doing. Harry seemed drone-like; he had not said two words since he woke up that morning. Fleur looked like she was going to be sick, judging from the slight green tinge in her cheeks. Krum was not looking at anyone or anything for that matter; he stared off into space, almost like he also would rather be anywhere else.  
  
None too soon, they heard the sound of several hundred people passing the tent, joking and laughing as they made their way past. Marik felt like he was going to outright vomit right there; how could anyone be laughing at a time like THIS?! Then, before he even knew it, Bagman was opening the pouch and holding it out to Fleur.  
  
"Ladies first," he said.  
  
Fleur gave him a scathing glare, before reaching a quavering hand into the bag. She pulled out a miniature figure of the Welsh Green, which was trying to shrug off the tag around its neck that displayed the number two. Krum was next, pulling out the Swedish Short-Snout, which had a number three around its own neck.  
  
Marik paled as Bagman swiveled around to point the bag at him. Somehow he managed to force his hand to stay steady enough to reach in and pull out... the Chinese Fireball, with the number one displayed proudly around its neck.  
  
The Gravekeeper was surprised that he managed to keep his queasiness from exploding out of him. Of course he would get the one that looked the most like Osiris. It had to be some kind of cosmic retribution, either that, or Ra enjoyed sick jokes. Either way, Marik had a feeling he was going to be barbequed by the time this was all over...  
  
"Well, now, Mr. Ishitar," Bagman was saying. Marik blinked, surprised at being addressed. He looked over next to him to see that Harry had already drawn out the last dragon - the Hungarian Horntail. "You'll be going first young man, so just go out into the enclosure when you hear the whistle. Now, then, Harry; might I have a word with you outside...?"  
  
Marik almost begged Harry not to go, but his brain was too much of a pile of mush to form a coherent thought, not to mention give voice to one. His friend left, leaving him alone with the two foreign wizards. He looked at the both of them, realizing there was no way he was going to get any kind of conversation out of them even if he himself had been up for it, before heading over to the side of the tent that lead out to the enclosure.  
  
Ra, what the hell was he thinking when he put his name in that cup...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Up in the stands, Yugi and the others watched as the dragon handlers brought in the Chinese Fireball, surprised even though Marik and Harry had told them what they were going to be up against before hand. Draco looked slightly furious, muttering about how it was supposed to be safe this year and how dragons were anything but safe. Yami Yugi kept a tight arm around his hikari, suddenly grateful that he had not been picked as school champion. Hermione had more or less wore her nails down to the point they were bleeding, but she kept insisting she was not worried. Both Bakura and Yami Bakura seemed agitated, both silently hoping that Marik would be able to concentrate enough to pull off whatever he had to do...  
  
Yami Seto, however, was not focused on any of this. The nest that had been set up in the enclosure distracted his gaze. It took him merely a moment to realize the purpose of it, and what it would be in relation to the dragon, and he swore violently.  
  
Seto frowned at his other half. "What's you're problem?"  
  
Yami Seto glanced at him. "The Blue Eyes, that's the problem."  
  
The young CEO raised an eyebrow. "What about it?"  
  
"It's female," the high priest replied, as if that would explain everything. It, obviously, did not.  
  
"How do you even know?" Seto demanded.  
  
The high priest blew out a frustrated sigh. "Because it was created from half of a woman's soul!"  
  
Seto rolled his eyes. "Right, okay. Now, what does this have to do with the dragon down there?"  
  
He waved toward the Chinese Fireball as his dark half gave him a scathing look.  
  
"Do the math, hikari!" he snapped. "What does a female with a nest of young ones do when another female shows up?"  
  
Seto paled as realization dawned on him. He opened his mouth to say something, when a sharp whistle cut him off, and Marik came out into the enclosure below. The Egyptian hesitated for a very obvious moment, before raising an arm into the air, the Millennium Ring around his neck glowing in response.  
  
"I'm told, ladies and gentlemen," came Bagman's voice, as he was the one commentating, "that Mr. Ishitar is part of an 'Ancient Egyptian Magic' class at Hogwarts. Seems like he's trying an ancient Summoning spell, something that's very old and VERY advanced."  
  
A black vortex leading to the Shadow Realm swirled into being behind Marik, and hush fell over the crowd, anxious to see what ancient being he was bringing to life...  
  
Marik brought his arm down swiftly, as if urging something forward.  
  
"Come out, BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON!"  
  
The crowd - especially those that were Muggle-born or were a fan of Duel Monsters - erupted into ecstatic shouts as the hazy and transparent dragon emerged from its home in the Shadows. Seto groaned, hiding his face, while Yami Seto tried to massage away a growing headache.  
  
"This is going to be bloody..." the high priest murmured.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Right from the moment the Blue Eyes White Dragon emerged from the Shadow Realm, Marik knew something was about to go horribly wrong. The Chinese Fireball reared back, spreading out its wings and hissing at the dragon that had seeming appeared from nowhere. The Blue Eyes looked largely uninterested, but that did not stop the Fireball from perceiving it as a threat. It opened its jaws and let out a large plum of deadly fire. Flapping its wings, the Blue Eyes was able the get enough height to avoid the blast. Unfortunately, the beating of the dragon's massive wings caused some of the flames to deter from their path...  
  
Marik did not have enough time to get fully out of harms way. He was able to dodge just enough so that one of the stray fireballs only brushed against the left side of his face. The crowd seemed to gasp as one as the nasty smell of charred flesh reached his nose. Holding the burned side of his face in pain, Marik stumbled back slightly as the dragon handlers got ready to go out into the enclosure.  
  
"Iie!" Marik shouted, holding out his free hand. "No! I can handle this!"  
  
The handlers seemed uncertain, but they backed off as the Egyptian felt a slight rushing of wings beside him. He turned to see the Blue Eyes settle down on the ground, resting as it stared at the Chinese Fireball with a seemingly bored look on its face. Marik narrowed his eyes, before walking right up to its enormous head, keeping his eye trained on the other dragon, which was watching them warily.  
  
"Blue Eyes, listen to me," Marik hissed, keeping his voice low. "You have to help me here."  
  
The Blue Eyes seemed to give him a look, as if saying, "I'm way older than you; why should I bother?"  
  
"You have to," the Egyptian insisted. "You're the only thing that can help me out of this."  
  
The Blue Eyes snorted, turning away from him. Marik could have sworn he felt a vein pop in his anger, but somehow he managed to keep himself from striking out at the stubborn dragon.  
  
"Look, I may not be Seto... thank Ra," he muttered under his breath. The Blue Eyes snorted again. "BUT, we have something in common in relationship to him."  
  
The dragon turned its head slightly toward him. If given a human face, Marik imagined it would be raising an eyebrow at him.  
  
Marik smirked slightly. "We'd both risk our necks to help him out if he were in a jam, no matter how much of a stuck up bastard he can be sometimes."  
  
The Blue Eyes White Dragon snorted again, though this time it seemed to be in agreement. It rose from its resting position, letting out a roar of challenge to the Chinese Fireball before taking to the air once again.  
  
"Just draw it away from the nest!" Marik called up to it. "I'll take it from there!"  
  
The Blue Eyes let out another roar in response, and the Chinese Fireball seemed to get the hint that its nest was going to be in danger again. It backed up, using its massive tail to protect the eggs, before letting loose another plum of fire. Dodging, the Blue Eyes returned fire in the form of a burst of lightening as Marik slunk around the edge of the enclosure, waiting for his chance to dart forward and grab the golden egg.  
  
Meanwhile, the Fireball paused a moment, obviously confused by the attack that the Blue Eyes had countered with. It apparently had never encountered a dragon that could shoot lightening before, and it did not know how to react to it. When the Blue Eyes flew it to try to take a snap at its neck seemed to make up its mind however. The Fireball edged away from the nest a little, trying to get a better shot at the more agile Blue Eyes. Sensing an impending attack, the Blue Eyes hovered about back and forth, luring it inch by slow inch away from the nest; it beat its wings, gaining enough altitude to hover just above the Chinese Fireball...  
  
That was when the opportunity presented itself. The Fireball uncurled its tail from around the nest, using it as balance as it attempted to fly up toward the Blue Eyes. Marik darted forward before he lost the chance, ducking under the dragon's tail and climbing into the small nest. Nestled amongst a collection of dull brown eggs was his shimmering target. He grabbed the golden egg without a thought, launching himself out of the nest and running a safe distance away before turning around.  
  
The Chinese Fireball had almost succeeded in reaching a good angle where it could snap the Blue Eyes' neck in half, but that did not matter anymore. The dragon handlers raced out into the enclosure, subduing the dragon so they could guide it out into its own pen. Marik looked up to the Blue Eyes, nodding toward the dragon in thanks and respect, before sending the creature back to the Shadow Realm with a wave of his arm. It was then that he became fully aware of the noise of the crowd, all the students and professors watching and applauding. What he had just done also hit him square in the chest, and he suddenly felt his breakfast and lunch again. He put a hand over his mouth, wincing when he brushed up against his burnt face, trying desperately not to be sick.  
  
"Very good indeed!" Bagman exclaimed. "And now for the score!"  
  
Marik did not even take notice of what he got for a score; he would ask Yugi and the others later. All he wanted to do at that moment was get the hell out of that enclosure; he wanted to go back to the castle, to his bed in the Gryffindor tower, hide under the covers, and not come out for a good few weeks.  
  
He did not know how it happened, but somehow a moment later, he ended up sitting on a seat in a different tent from what he had been earlier. Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse, was hovering over him, spreading some kind of orange paste onto his face.  
  
"Dragons!" she exclaimed disapprovingly. "I swear! First dementors, now dragons! What's next at this school? Mr. Ishitar, are you all right?"  
  
Marik nodded numbly, not trusting his voice enough to answer her vocally.  
  
He remained sitting in that chair for the rest of the task, listening to the roars of the crowd as each of the other champions went up against their dragons. It seemed like hours before Harry finally entered the tent, his Firebolt broomstick slung over a wounded shoulder and his own golden egg tucked securely under his good arm. Marik looked up at him blearily, surprised to see the younger boy smiling in elation.  
  
"Marik, you all right?" Harry asked, seeing the expression on his face.  
  
Marik just blinked. "Harry?"  
  
"Yeah...?"  
  
"We dead?"  
  
Harry frowned. "No..."  
  
Marik nodded. "Oh. Okay."  
  
THUD!!!  
  
With that said, Marik finally let his queasiness and nervousness overtake him and passed out cold, tumbling out of his chair and onto the dirt floor.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Seto followed the others at a distance as they helped a barely conscious Marik shamble into the school. It was nothing short of a miracle that the Gravekeeper had survived the first task, all things considered, especially that magnificent blunder of his at the start. He did not know what had possessed him to even think of entering such a dangerous tournament, but Seto hoped that the first task set him straight. Seriously, whoever entered the thing had to be a complete...  
  
He cut that thought off before he could finish it, stopping dead in his tracks. Well, not EVERYONE who entered the Triwizard Tournament was a complete idiot. Looking off toward the Beauxbatons carriage, he could see a group of the blue robed students standing about, talking to one another. Seto hesitated a moment, debating whether or not he should go over and ask them if they had seen Fleur. It turned out, however, that he did not need to.  
  
"Are you looking for me?" Fleur's accented voice came from behind him. Seto jumped, not expecting that, before turning around.  
  
"Are you okay?" he asked in return. "It scared me for a moment when your robes caught on fire."  
  
She frowned down at the burned fabric, picking at it slightly. "It iz nozzing. I hav' replacements."  
  
Seto smiled gently, one of his rare genuine smiles, putting a comforting hand on her shoulder. "I'm... just glad you're all right."  
  
Fleur, however, pulled out of his grasp, her face a mixture of worry and concern. "Zeto... I... I should tell you... about..."  
  
Seto shook his head slightly, cutting her off. "If it's about you being part veela," he began quietly, "it's okay, I know; a friend told me."  
  
She blinked, visibly confused. "An'... zill you come for me?"  
  
"Of course," he answered without hesitation. "You should know why. You don't have to do anything for me to care about you."  
  
Fleur hesitated a moment, obviously not used to such an admission, before she beamed happily. "Thank you... thank you, Zeto."  
  
Seto nodded, before he too became nervous. Since she had come to him to tell her about herself - never mind that he already knew - he should really do the same. After all, if she trusted him enough to tell him about the veela when he had no clue, then it was only fair that he would return that trust... right? He was not sure; this kind of thing was so new to him.  
  
"Fleur... you're... not the only one who's a bit... different," he began, trying to find the right words for what he wanted to say. She waited patiently, obviously understanding, but someone else did not share the same feeling. He could feel Yami Seto backing up a bit into the shelter of his own Soul Room.  
  
~~Hikari, what are you doing?~~ the high priest asked. ~~Why are you bringing me into this?~~  
  
~~She has a right to know,~~ Seto replied. Yami Seto seemed to blush and shudder in nervousness at the same time.  
  
~~Well... well... I'm not ready for her to know about me.~~  
  
Seto mentally rolled his eyes. ~~You coward.~~  
  
"Zeto?" Fleur asked as Yami Seto stared swearing at him. Seto just rubbed the back of his neck, ignoring his other as he started snapping out a few nasty-sounding Egyptian words.  
  
"Sorry," he apologized, before reaching into his robes and pulling out the Millennium Rod, deciding that was the best place to start. "Fleur, this is the Millennium Rod, a... magical Item from Ancient Egypt. You might have seen that Marik has something similar - the Millennium Ring. I... admit, I don't know much about these Items, but from what I gather some of them have souls within..."  
  
He trailed off, not sure on how the explain it from there. Fleur seemed to get the idea though, as she cocked her head to the side thoughtfully.  
  
"Are you zaying you are... pozzezzed?" she asked.  
  
"Yes," Seto admitted, putting the Rod back into its hiding place.  
  
"And... iz zis spirit of yours friendly?" she inquired.  
  
Seto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "A little TOO friendly sometimes."  
  
~~Well, excuuuuuuuuuse me, hikari,~~ Yami Seto grumbled.  
  
Fleur, however, giggled. "May I zee him?"  
  
~~No!~~  
  
"Sure, let me kick him out," Seto replied, a bit of a smirk on his face as he retreated to the Soul Corridor within his mind. That smirk turned into a sneer when he saw his dark half clutching the frame of his Soul Door with a death grip.  
  
~~You really are a coward.~~  
  
Yami Seto glared. ~~Shut up,~~ he snapped. ~~I don't know about this. I mean... what if she doesn't like the fact that her boyfriend's got a five thousand year old spirit taking up residence in his head? I don't want to ruin your chances, hikari; you take so few of them with women.~~  
  
Seto gave him a bland look. ~~Nice try. If she didn't like that, I doubt she would have asked to see you,~~ he pointed out, before grabbing his other self's arm and yanking him forcefully away from the door frame.  
  
In the real world, Yami Seto yelped as he was suddenly forced to appear next to his hikari. He spared Seto a glare before turning his attention to Fleur, rubbing the back of his neck slightly.  
  
"Uh... hi," he said, nervously. "Er..."  
  
Fleur looked at him, slightly surprised to see a washed out Seto-twin, even though she had been expecting it. She observed the high priest for a long moment, carefully looking him up and down... before promptly passing out. Caught off guard, Seto barely had time to reach out and grab her before she hit the ground. Yami Seto face-palmed, not believing his luck.  
  
"Well, that went well," he said dryly. "I tried to warn you, hikari. I just hope this doesn't -"  
  
The high priest cut himself off as Fleur's eyes suddenly snapped open, making both of them jump slightly in surprise. She looked up at Seto... but her gaze seemed different, almost as if she did not recognize him. She turned to Yami Seto, and she smiled warmly, much to his confusion.  
  
"Fleur, are you all right?" Seto asked.  
  
She looked up at him again, confused, as if she could not understand what he said. Yami Seto frowned as she turned her gaze back to him again. Something seemed different about her; her manner, her face, it all seemed a bit softer... it was almost as if...  
  
The high priest took in a sharp intake of breath as realization hit him. No... no way... it could not be...  
  
Fleur smiled broadly when she saw he knew, before opening her mouth and saying in FLAWLESS Egyptian, "It is good to see you again, Priest Seto."  
  
Seto looked between Fleur and his dark half, wondering what in the nine hells just happened. Yami Seto, however, did not notice his hikari's looks. The one person he never thought he would see again took up his gaze... but there was no mistake, it was definitely...  
  
"K...Kisara..." 


	15. Pharaonic Vengence

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Dawn of Fate  
  
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O_O  
  
This chapter killed me. It's so long for one of my chapters...  
  
@_@  
  
Anway, no Q&A this time; one, because most of you seemed to have the same questions, and two, because I am so SICK of typing right now. I hope this chapter will answer your questions. Also, be forewarned, this chapter is a MAJOR spoiler for the Egypt Arc of the manga. Just giving you fair warning.  
  
This chapter is dedicated to Jenniyah and her scantillations site, without which, this chapter wouldn't be possible.  
  
Read, enjoy, and then review!  
  
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CHAPTER FIFTEEN - PHARAONIC VENGENCE  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
The palace was crumbling.  
  
As horrifying as that was, the great palace of Thebes was returning to the sand, and there was not a thing that High Priest Seto could do about it. He winced as another column crumbled into dust, his cape whipping about from the after shock. He did not have to be facing the... CREATURE - for that was all he was to him now - behind him to know that he was reaching out a decaying hand to him.  
  
"The previous pharaoh, Akunamukanon, was my brother," the creature explained, the white mask it wore hiding the entirety of his decrepit face, with the exception of the emotionless Millennium Eye. "Seto... you have royal blood within you!"  
  
Seto felt his breath freeze in his throat. Royal... blood...?  
  
"The pharaoh and my destiny are like the light and the shadows," the creature continued. "But, from the awakening of the Powers of Darkness, the world will enter a new era! Killing the hated pharaoh... we can rule the world, Seto!"  
  
Rule the world... Seto did not know how he felt about that. Taking the pharaoh's place... he had to admit, it was an intriguing thought, but ruling over a world of darkness...?  
  
His thoughts were jarred back to the situation at hand as a whole section of wall fell to the ground in pieces. Seto shielded his face, gritting his teeth as he came to what would be the most important decision of his life. He could not afford to entertain the thought of what it would be like to rule the world; he had much more important things to worry about…  
  
Like, Kisara...  
  
"Soon, that girl will die..." the creature rasped behind him. "That is the moment you will house a God! With the White Dragon, you will become pharaoh!"  
  
Seto grit his teeth, his hands balled up into fists. "I will not fall to your level..." he uttered under his breath, before whirling on the creature behind him. "I will not sell my soul to the darkness!"  
  
With that said, he took off into the crumbling palace, missing the look of distain that the creature seemed to be giving him.  
  
Seto ducked under fallen columns and dodged pieces of falling ceiling as he progressed deeper into the palace. Guards that were fleeing urged him to turn back, but he ignored them. There was no way he could turn away. He had to get her out of there; it was his own greed that put her there in the first place!  
  
Finally reaching her cell, he rushed up to the bars to see that she was backed up into a corner, staring at the cracks creeping through the walls of the small room in horror. She turned when she heard his footsteps; elated beyond words to see someone she was familiar with. Seto did not spare the time to find the keys, using a blast from the Millennium Rod to take care of the lock on the cell instead.  
  
"Kisara, are you all right?" he asked as the door swung open.  
  
Kisara looked about fearfully. "Why is this kind of destruction...?"  
  
She was cut off as a chunk of ceiling inside her cell toppled to the ground, smashing her cot. Seto grabbed her arm, dragging her out of the small room.  
  
"No time," he said, "Come!"  
  
Kisara, however, pulled away slightly. "By any chance, was this the work of the demon I house?"  
  
Seto was caught off guard by the question. She thought she housed a demon... or did it just seem like it was a demon to her, because of all the suffering she endured because of it? He never thought anyone could view something of such immense power as anything but a blessing; so for her to call the White Dragon a demon was... confusing.  
  
"No, that's not it," he answered. "This disaster is the work of those that are under the control of the diabolical darkness... the demon that is called 'humans'..."  
  
He turned to her, seeing her confused expression, and returned it with the gentlest one he could manage, given the circumstances.  
  
"Don't worry," he assured her. "You don't have a demon inside you."  
  
Seto took her by the hand then, silently marveling as they ran back through the toppling palace at how soft her skin was. Maybe... just maybe if things had been different... if they met during another time... another place... maybe...  
  
The almost unrecognizable entrance to the palace came up before he had time to entertain those thought. They turned around as they emerged, watching as a split second later, the doorframe caved in, sealing that exit. Seto stared at it for a long moment - what had once been his home... now gone... He shook his head, before turning to Kisara.  
  
"Leave," he urged her. "Leave this palace immediately, and go to where the flames of war cannot reach you!"  
  
Kisara looked up at him for a long moment, before smiling happily at him. "Thank you, Priest Seto!"  
  
Seto turned his back to her as she ran, closing his eyes and muttering a prayer for her safety. If he managed to survive this, if they managed to win this war against darkness, then he promised he would seek her out, and...  
  
He did not get a chance to finish that thought, as a deep chuckling reached his ears. Snapping his eyes open, he saw that the... creature was still there, blood-red cloak and stark white hair billowing in the breezes of destruction. The creature reached out a decaying, demanding hand to him.  
  
"Why...?" he demanded, anger seeping into his voice. "Why did you let the girl escape? You could have taken the girl's God with the power of the Millennium Rod and become pharaoh!"  
  
Seto turned away, his jaw clenched as tightly as his fists, before turning back to the creature with a glare powerful enough to give the pharaoh pause.  
  
"Because... my father already bravely gave up his life on the battlefield long ago," he snapped bitterly.  
  
There was a long moment where the two men just stood there, staring at each other. Then, the creature seemed to glare, before rearing back, his hands sparking with purple lightening of dark destruction.  
  
"Fine then," he returned coldly. "I will take God!"  
  
Seto paused a moment, before realizing what he was trying to do. He turned in horror to see that Kisara had stopped running when she heard the creature speak, and was staring at him in morbid horror, too afraid to move.  
  
"Kisara!"  
  
Too late...  
  
The creature's powerful magic hit Kisara head on, ripping through her body as if it were nothing. She did not even have a chance to scream as her light was forcefully taken away from her. Her long, white hair fell about her face in a cascade as Seto watched her tumble to the broken earth... and not move again...  
  
"KISARA!!!"  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The memory had come unbidden to Yami Seto's mind as he stared at what could only be Kisara in Fleur's body; and if the look on his hikari's face was any indication, he had accidentally projected it to him as well. Seto just stood there in numb shock, staring at his other half before getting it in his head that he should help Kisara stand up straight. He did so, with her uttering what he recognized as the Egyptian equivalent of a "thank you", and turned to the high priest.  
  
"Take over," he said dully. Yami Seto blinked; it was not often his hikari just let him take over...  
  
"Are you sure...?"  
  
"Yes," Seto replied, an unnerved look appearing on his face. "I need to think."  
  
A moment later, the high priest was in control of the body they shared, and he winced as Seto slammed his Soul Door shut. He sighed - his hikari was either confused or not in a good mood, though in this instance he would not had doubted it was both - before looking down at Kisara. She smiled up at him warmly, and Yami Seto felt a pang of guilt and sadness hit his heart.  
  
"There's... there's so many things I want to say to you..." he began, remembering to speak Egyptian. "But... how... how can you be here? The White Dragon... your kaa..."  
  
Kisara cast her eyes down at the mention of the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "The White Dragon was only half of my kaa. The other half... what made up me and my baa, were not needed for its creation," she explained, before looking up at him again sadly. "I've wandered around for centuries, Priest Seto, since that day; traveling from host to host, existing as the White Dragon had when it was within me. Most, like Fleur, were not even aware of my existence because of this."  
  
Yami Seto could hardly believe what he was hearing. Here he was, reunited with the one person he had ever remotely cared about from the past, and he could only be with her when his hikari's girlfriend was unconscious? Well, he supposed that would not matter much; the way Seto was going, he would never have a body separate from him like the pharaoh and the tomb robber.  
  
"But, why didn't you rest?" he asked after a long moment. "What made you keep traveling all these years?"  
  
The bright smile that came to Kisara's face nearly made his heart melt. "You, of course."  
  
"Me?"  
  
Kisara giggled, before bravely poking him in the chest. "Yes, you," she replied. "I saw the look on your face when I... died. I knew you would blame yourself for what happened."  
  
Yami Seto frowned. "But it IS my fault," he returned. "If I hadn't brought you to the palace -"  
  
Kisara cut him off, holding up a hand to his mouth to keep it shut. "I have a feeling, even if you had not found me, the darkness would have eventually. None of us were safe during that time."  
  
The high priest swallowed painfully as she took her hand away, his throat tightening from the memories of that day and the days that followed.  
  
"It didn't matter anyway," he said quietly. "They all died, and I was left to pick up the pieces. The only reason I'm here now is because my grief over betraying everyone tied me to the Millennium Rod." He closed his eyes, a rogue tear escaping from them. "Pharaoh, Aishisu, and the tomb robber wonder why I'm so much different from when we were in Khemet... it's because I don't want them - any of them - to see my shame."  
  
Kisara reached up again, this time resting both hand on either side of his face. He opened his eyes again, gazing down at her sadly as she gave him an encouraging smile.  
  
"That's why we're here now, I believe. To make things right this time," she said, before backing away a bit. "Fleur's consciousness is stirring; I won't be here for much longer."  
  
As if invited, Yami Seto leaned down toward her, capturing her lips with his own in a kiss five thousand years overdue. Eternity seemed to pass just like that, but it was not long enough for the high priest, and soon he found himself holding onto her unconscious body. He waited for Fleur to wake, all the while wishing that he had been able to use his own senses to feel that kiss...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Weeks passed since the first task, and while the whole month of November had been unseasonably bright and warm, the first week of the December days dawned cold with the first falling of snow. Yami Yugi propped his elbows on one of the windows in the boy's dorm, watching the white flakes dance as they descended to the frozen ground. Behind him, his little hikari was getting dressed for a Saturday of playing in the snow.  
  
The pharaoh, however, had other plans; just as Yugi finished pulling his sweater over his head, Yami Yugi went over to him and swept him up in his arms. He squeaked, surprised, reaching out to wrap his arms around his dark half's shoulders out of reflex.  
  
"What are you doing?" he asked.  
  
Yami Yugi smirked. "You and I are spending the day together."  
  
Yugi's eyes widened, many thoughts of just what that might imply running rampant in his brain. The pharaoh raised an eyebrow at a particular thought.  
  
"Koibito, I think you've watched one to many of Jonouchi-kun's videos."  
  
Yugi's whole face turned red. "You watch them too!"  
  
Yami Yugi smirked, before putting Yugi down. "Yes, but I'm actually not thinking along those lines at the moment," he explained, serious. "I still owe the tomb robber for what he did to us in the summer."  
  
Yugi sweatdropped. "Mou hitori no boku... can't you just let it drop?"  
  
The pharaoh gave him a patronizing look in return. "Now, aibou. Have you ever known me to back down from an opportunity to take the tomb robber down several notches?"  
  
Yugi sighed. "No..."  
  
Yami Yugi rubbed his hands together, an almost greedy expression on his face. "Now, all I need to do is figure out what exactly I'm going to DO to him..."  
  
Just then, Marik ran into the room, a bit of an anxious look to his face. He instantly went to the trunk that rested before his bed, rummaging through the contents before pulling out the golden egg he had recovered during the first task. The champions had been told that there as a puzzle within the eggs, and the night of the first task - after Marik had recovered from his shocked state - him and Harry found a way to open their eggs, only to be greeted by what could only be described as high pitch screeching. None of them could figure out how that was supposed to be a puzzle, but it seemed like Marik now had and idea.  
  
"What's up, Marik-kun?" Yugi asked, sitting down on his bed. The Gravekeeper looked up, surprised to see them still there.  
  
"Oh... I think I might've figured this out," he replied excitedly. Yugi was about to ask how he did it, when his other cut him off.  
  
"Marik, you wouldn't happen to know what the tomb robber is afraid of, do you?" Yami Yugi asked, a deceptively innocent look on his face. "Aibou doesn't believe me when I say that everyone has a fear of something."  
  
Yugi sweatdropped. Why did he always get dragged into these things?  
  
Marik blinked, surprised by the question. "The tomb robber? Oh, well, he said he was afraid of snakes."  
  
Yami Yugi smiled sweetly as Yugi face-palmed. "Snakes, is it?" the pharaoh asked.  
  
The Gravekeeper nodded, misinterpreting Yugi's reaction. "Yeah," he replied. "You should have seen him when we went up against those Death Eaters during Battle City this year. His reactions were PRICELESS."  
  
Yami Yugi just had a predatory grin on his face that made Yugi feel very sorry for Yami Bakura. Marik missed it, however, as he said good-bye to the two of them and headed out of the dorm. The pharaoh turned his gaze to his hikari, and Yugi could have sworn he could literally see the gears turning in his other's head.  
  
"We've got some work to do..." he said in a low, plotting voice. "First thing's first... lets see if Bakura has upset anyone in his hikari's house..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Bakura leaned back in the stuffed armchair he was sitting in, stretching his arms above his head before tossing his quill into the inkwell and gathering up the scrolls that consisted of his homework. Yami Bakura was sitting on the floor, resting his head lazily against the side of the chair, poking at the gradually dying fire with a fire poker. Bakura crossed his arm on top of the arm that his other was leaning against, craning his neck to tap the tomb robber on the top of the head with his chin before resting it on his arms.  
  
"I'm done my homework," he said as Yami Bakura fought back a yawn.  
  
"About time," the tomb robber grumbled. "Baka Snape... why's he always gotta give you the most homework?"  
  
Bakura grinned. "Maybe he knows it annoys you when no one's paying attention to you."  
  
Yami Bakura grinned as well. "Maybe I should show him annoying me is a bad idea."  
  
Bakura giggled in return. "Why not? Yami Yugi-kun already played a Yami-no-Game against him."  
  
The tomb robber snorted. "Screw the Yami-no-Game, I'd skip right to the Batsu Game. He doesn't deserve the chance to defend himself."  
  
Bakura just shook his head, before standing up from his seat and letting out a mighty yawn. "I'm going to bed. I'm exhausted."  
  
"Me too," his other yawned, also standing up. "Oui, Ryou, you... don't mind if I sleep outside of my Soul Room tonight, do you?"  
  
Bakura blinked, caught off guard by the request. "Sure... I guess... but we'll have to share the same bed, unless you want to sleep down here."  
  
The tomb robber shrugged. "Sure, whatever," he replied, before flashing one of his malicious grins. "Just don't think of grabbing me anywhere."  
  
Bakura made a face as he started up to the boy's dormitories. "Why would I WANT to?"  
  
Yami Bakura just sniggered as the two of them entered the fourth year Hufflepuff boy's dorm. He retreated into his Soul Room for a moment, giving his hikari privacy as he slipped into his pajamas. The tomb robber reappeared as soon as he was done, however, dressed in the same light blue cotton shirt and baggy, drawstring pants. He picked at the cloths, before shrugging.  
  
"How long, 'ya think, before I get to wear my own clothes like his highness-ness?" he asked.  
  
Bakura shrugged as he crawled into bed. "No idea. 'Night, Bakura."  
  
Yami Bakura climbed in as well, settling so that he and his hikari were lying back to back. "'Night Ryou."  
  
The tomb robber had to admit, as he started to drift off with a lazy smile on his face, that sleeping in a comfortable bed was something you certainly took for granted until you could not do it any more. He nestled his head deep into one of the pillows, enjoying the warmth that surrounded him, even if the sensation was only borrowed from his hikari. There was just one thing that was bothering him…  
  
"Ryou, move your feet, they're ice cold," he muttered.  
  
"You move yours," Bakura muttered back, already sounding half asleep. "They're colder than death."  
  
Yami Bakura rolled his eyes. "VERY funny, Ryou, but my feet CAN'T be cold."  
  
Bakura turned over slightly, fixing his other with a frown. "Well, if it isn't you, and it isn't me, what the -"  
  
The young man was cut off by a loud, drawn out hiss coming from under the blankets. They both froze, their faces turning as white as their hair, staring at each other in wide-eyed shock. Gulping slightly, Yami Bakura sat up, took a hold of the bed sheets, and tugged them back...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The grounds of Hogwarts were covered in a blanket of crystalline snow, which was sparkling beautifully under the light of the stars. The lights in Hagrid's hut as well as most of the rest of the school were out, as most everyone and everything had gone off to sleep for that peaceful and serene -  
  
"FUCKING PHARAOH!!!"  
  
The scream echoed throughout the school, causing some lights to flicker on as people were disturbed from their peaceful night's sleep... or, in some instances, disturbed from their thoughts...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Seto jumped in his seat, startled out of his brooding by the shout heard all throughout the school. He leaned back in the chair, urging his heart to stop pounding in his chest. He REALLY did not want to know what that was all about, though he had a feeling that he would be hearing about it tomorrow. Sighing, he reached over for a fire poker in hopes of urging a little more warmth out of the fire.  
  
"Are you okay?"  
  
Seto nearly jumped out of his skin again, before turning a withering glance to the couch. Yami Seto was sitting there, his arms squeezed between his knees, his eyebrows raised as he waited for an answer.  
  
"Very well, considering I've suffered from two heart attacks within the space of a minute," he replied scathingly. The high priest rolled his eyes, before a serious look appeared on his face.  
  
"You've been distant since Kisara appeared..." he began, getting another glare out of his hikari. "I'm worried, that's all. I mean... you didn't even look at Fleur today, or anyone else for that matter."  
  
Seto glared again, before looking away from him and propping his feet up on a table. Yami Seto frowned, resisting the urge to reach over and throttle his hikari. The two of them were silent for a long moment, with the high priest fidgeting like a little kid, before the silence was broken again.  
  
"That thing... that creature... in your memory," Seto began. "Was that that thing... that Yugi-kun called 'Zork Necrophadisu'?"  
  
Yami Seto flinched, looking away. "Yes... and no," he replied, knowing he would not be able to get away without answering. "He... was CREATED... by the God of Evil - Zork Necrophadisu - when he put the seven Items on what you know as the pharaoh's memory tablet."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. "The thing with the slots for the Items in it?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
Another long, deafening pause, before Seto broke the silence again. "Who was he before he put the Items together?"  
  
Yami Seto squeezed his eyes shut, shuddering in anger and shame he thought had been buried in the sands along with his body. He gripped the arm of the couch, trying to keep his emotions under control.  
  
"He... he was the former High Priest Akunadin," he answered, his voice shaking, his throat tight. "He was the original holder of the Millennium Eye, the brother of the old pharaoh - Panseru's father... and he was my father."  
  
Seto's head shot to where his other self was sitting, shock clearly written on his face. The high priest did not look at him; his jaw was set, and it almost seemed as if he were trying to keep himself from crying. He looked away once again, sitting back in his seat heavily.  
  
"You... knew your father...?" he hazard to ask.  
  
Yami Seto sniffed out of reflex, shaking his head. "No, not really," he answered quickly. "When he returned after acquiring the Eye... well, I was just a kid. When I saw him again, I thought he was a monster." He laughed humorlessly. "Wasn't far from the truth. Anyway, I blocked the memory of my father from my mind; convinced myself with my mother's help that my father died in battle. In a way, he sort of did."  
  
Yami Seto looked over to his hikari, slightly surprised by the lost look on his face. Seto put a hand over his mouth, as if he were thinking deeply. After another long moment, he sighed and stood up, looking down at his dark half.  
  
"At least you didn't kill the man you knew as your father."  
  
Now it was Yami Seto's turn to look up at his hikari in surprise. What was that supposed to mean? His hikari never killed anyone... did he? He stood up, looking at the younger man eye to eye.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" he asked. "You didn't kill Gonzaboru; you wouldn't be able to keep something that serious from me."  
  
Seto narrowed his eyes, glaring, gritting his teeth. "You're supposed to STAY out of my mind, remember?" he snapped.  
  
Yami Seto snapped at that too. Before Seto could even blink, he was toppling over the table he had previously propped his feet up on, a glaring red mark staining his face. He looked up at his other self in horror and surprise, having never counted on ever being struck by the high priest. Yami Seto lowered his hand, his other hand curled into a fist, his teeth clenched so hard they could have cracked.  
  
"Wake up, hikari!" he hissed quietly. "In case you haven't noticed, we're kind of stuck with each other no matter what. We're supposed to help each other, but if you keep blocking me, I can't do much to help you!"  
  
Seto looked up at him, incredulous. "HELP me? Did I ever ASK for your help? I don't need yours or anyone else's so called 'help'."  
  
Yami Seto narrowed his eyes. "Hikari, you keep thinking like that you're going to die a very lonely man," he returned.  
  
"Whatever," Seto snapped, getting back on his feet. "You should know by now, the only things that matter to me are Mokuba and Kaiba Corporation."  
  
The high priest crossed his arms. "Oh, and what about Fleur?" he shot back at him. Seto paused, not having an answer for that. "What, is she nothing more than a fling for you?"  
  
"Of course not!" Seto snapped, a little too loud.  
  
"Then you should know by now that there are quite a few more things that are important in life," the high priest returned.  
  
"Oh, yes," Seto replied dryly, "there are so many things that are so important... until someone comes around and takes everything you hold dear away. Your freedom, your brother, your life; and now you have to do everything his way or he'll rip those things you hold dear to pieces in front of you. And then, when you're given the one chance, the ONE CHANCE, to get back at him, to prove that you're better than him, and you take it. You succeed... no, beyond succeed. You POUND him into the ground; you humiliate him so much that he can't stand to live any more. And when he's gone, all you can do is laugh about it, but deep inside something dies, because you know you're supposed to be sad or regretful because if it wasn't for you, he'd still be alive, and... and..."  
  
All throughout his rant, Seto's normally cold exterior slowly started to degrade. Yami Seto watched as his hikari gradually changed from a stern businessman to a scared nineteen-year-old child. By the time he reached the end of it, he could not continue not because he ran out of words to describe what he had been through, but because his throat was so choked up from trying to stop the tears that were running rivers down his face anyway.  
  
Yami Seto rushed forward, grabbing a hold of his hikari. Seto did not even seem to realize what was going on as the high priest guided him around the table and helped him sit down, letting him take out his sorrows and frustration on his transparent shoulder. They stayed like that for a long moment, until Seto finally cried himself to sleep. Yami Seto pulled up the younger boy up until his hikari was stretched out on the couch with his head resting on his lap.  
  
The high priest sighed, brushing his fingers through Seto's hair. Despite the fact that he knew his hikari would either hate him or ignore him when he woke up, he knew he reached a new level of understanding with him...  
  
...and that was worth seven arguments. 


	16. Matters of the Heart

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
  
Dawn of Fate  
  
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Skyla: ::rocking back and forth, muttering incoheriently::  
  
Y.Bakura: Oy, Ryou, what's wrong with Skyla?  
  
Bakura: Have you checked the calender under next Wednesday?  
  
Y.Bakura: ::reading from calender:: "Blood will flow: Driver's Test two PM". Remind me not to go out for a walk next Wednesday.  
  
Bakura: -_-;; Bakura...  
  
Y.Bakura: ::sniggers:: C'mon, let's do the Q&A. Skyla ain't snapping out of it for awhile.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
~*Anonymous*~  
  
BOTH: NO!!!  
  
~*MollyJean*~  
  
Y.Bakura: You're laughing? At ME!?!  
  
Bakura: -_-;; Shut up, Bakura...  
  
Y.Bakura: _ Oh, yes, we DO get back at the pharaoh. ::evil laugh::  
  
Bakura: ::sigh::  
  
~*Nekostar 2*~  
  
Y.Bakura: I've been getting my own body since the high priest observed it on the train. :P  
  
Bakura: -_- Keep your tounge in will you?  
  
Y.Bakura: :|  
  
Bakura: And thanks for telling us about Prince Charming. Skyla went and ordered it at her local video store.  
  
~*Millennium Dreamer*~  
  
Y.Bakura: She found them at Jenniyah's YGO scantilations sites.  
  
Bakura: But we're too lazy to look up the URL. ^_^  
  
~*AG the master*~  
  
Y.Bakura: Ryou, how many pieces do you think this person would be in if Skyla were doing the Q&A?  
  
Bakura: Too many to count. O_o  
  
BOTH: THERE IS NO BAKURA/YAMI BAKURA!!!!!!!!!  
  
~*Cettie-girl*~  
  
Y.Bakura: No, bad pharaoh! Bad, bad, bad!!  
  
Bakura: -_-;;  
  
~*Chelsea*~  
  
Y.Bakura: ::glares:: You don't like it, don't read it.  
  
Bakura: ::glares:: We don't need nor want gay bashers in the reviews.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Y.Bakura: Well, that's all from us.  
  
Bakura: Now, if you'll excuse us, we have to hunt down Yami Yugi-kun.  
  
BOTH: ::evil smiles::  
  
Bakura: Read, enjoy, and then review!  
  
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CHAPTER SIXTEEN - MATTERS OF THE HEART  
  
The glaring afternoon sunlight woke Seto the next day. He winced against the offensive light without opening his eyes, shifting under the covers to get away from it...  
  
Wait, since when was he in his bed?  
  
Seto's eyes snapped open in surprise, only to see that he was indeed in his own bed in the Ravenclaw fourth year boy's dormitory. He was wrapped securely in the blankets - though if he had done that in his sleep or someone else had done that, he could not tell - and his head was resting on the lap of his other self. The high priest was still asleep, sitting so he was propped up against the headboard of the four-poster bed; his head was tilted to the side, and he was snoring softly.  
  
The young businessman's face burned in humiliation. He knew someone had to have helped his other self drag him upstairs, and considering he more than likely looked like hell after loosing control like he did last night...  
  
Seto mentally groaned then, the events of the night before burning brightly in his mind. How could he have lost it like that? He never voiced what he felt about what Gonzaboru did to him; he never wanted anyone's pity... but... why did he feel so much better than he had in a long time...?  
  
Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Daijobou desu ka, hikari?" Yami Seto asked, his voice still fogged by sleep.  
  
"Aa..." Seto muttered in return, not looking up at him. It was then he realized what time it was, and would have jumped out of bed if the hand on his shoulder had not tightened its grip.  
  
"Don't panic, hikari," Yami Seto assured him. "It's Sunday. Nothing going on today."  
  
Seto relaxed, but only a little bit. He felt... strange... almost as if something inside of him was being torn down. The barriers in his mind, perhaps that's what it was? He did not know - he was far from an expert in these kinds of things; they were more Yugi's department - but it sure felt like something was missing from his consciousness.  
  
"Do you want to talk about it?" Yami Seto asked. Seto cringed, and the priest quickly added, "You don't have to if you don't want to."  
  
There was a long drawn out silence, so deep that Seto could literally feel the minutes tick away.  
  
"You know..." he began quietly. "I can't help but wonder what I would have been like... if my parents hadn't died... or if my relatives hadn't been so greedy and used up our inheritance and dropping us off at that orphanage. Would I be more like Yugi? Maybe even Jonouchi? I don't know... I never will either."  
  
Seto closed his eyes again, feeling trails of hot tears burning their way down his face. What was with him? He did not want to share this, and yet... he could not stop himself from doing so.  
  
"That day Gonzaboru came to the orphanage," he continued, "I played a game of chess against him, with him adopting me and my brother as my prize if I won. I cheated horribly to win that game... but I did not even need to. Gonzaboru had made up his mind before even coming there. I didn't know then, but he wanted me as his heir, because I looked so much like Noah. I was going to be his lab rat; if I succeeded as a businessman, then he would displace my soul with Noah's using the virtual reality technology that I had created."  
  
Seto's fist involuntarily twisted closed around the lip of his bed sheets in his anger. Yami Seto reached down and unclenched his hikari's hand, letting him grip his translucent hand instead of the sheets.  
  
"He never got the chance to do it, though," Seto kept going, his voice tight. "I got the Kaiba Corporation board of directors on my side. They chose me to lead the Corporation barely a year before I first met Yugi and the others." He paused a moment, shuddering slightly. "I'll never forget the look on his face, before he threw himself out the window... and I'll never forget laughing about it..."  
  
The drawn-out silence that followed was twice as long as the last, and heavy with the last sentence Seto had spoken. It was broken only when he felt the wetness of tears falling onto his hair, and he frowned heavily.  
  
"I don't need your pity," he growled.  
  
Yami Seto laughed slightly. "It's not pity, hikari, it's joy," he explained. "Nearly nine years you've held in that hatred and despair. Any normal human would have cracked long before now, but somehow you've managed to hold on. But now, the time to let it go has long past, and you finally have. I'm proud of you."  
  
Seto paused, his mouth hanging open slightly in realization. So... that's what was missing from his mind: his hatred toward Gonzaboru. He had carried it for so long, sought physical ways to be rid of it... and all he had to do was tell someone about it? Share his feelings with someone... it was something he only did with Mokuba, and even that was hard. Maybe Gonzaboru had planned that all along... but somehow he did not care about that anymore.  
  
He was finally free.  
  
Seto loosened his grip on his other self's hand... and suddenly the tips of the high priests fingers started to glow. The glow danced along his hand and up his arm as Seto sat up and stared at his other self. The light spread all through his body, making everything it touched shimmer. Then, just as quickly as it appeared the light vanished...  
  
Leaving a perfectly solid high priest behind.  
  
Yami Seto held his hands up to his face, shocked that he could not see right through them. He parted his hands to look at his hikari, who had an equally stunned look on his face.  
  
"Wh... what just happened?" he asked numbly.  
  
Yami Seto swallowed. "Good question..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yami Yugi walked down the halls of Hogwarts castle alone, a big grin on his face. If the scream last night was any indication, the tomb robber had found his little "present". Revenge was supposed to be sweeter than Christmas, and considering how much he loved Christmas, revenge was a very sweet thing indeed. He sniggered to himself, getting some concerned looks from passersby. Nothing could dampen his good mood right now!  
  
He went around the bend in the hallway, passing one of the many suits of armor that dotted the hallways. The pharaoh glanced at it, not giving it much thought, until something creamy smacked him in the face. Blinking in confusion, he managed to wipe some of it away, only to have another creamy something land on the top of his head. It took him a moment to realize that the SUITS OF ARMOR were throwing PIES at him, but when he did, he managed to get away with only two more pies thrown at his back.  
  
Yami Yugi wiped the rest of the pie cream off of his face, wondering what possessed them to do such a thing. He heard a squeak, and duck in anticipation of another pie to the face, only to see that another suit of armor was holding out a piece of parchment. Grumbling, he snatched it out of the armor's metal hand, and he read it to himself as it stepped back into its normal place.  
  
This means war, pharaoh!  
  
The Bakuras  
  
A snarl escaped from Yami Yugi's mouth as he crushed the note in his fist.  
  
"You're on, tomb robber..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yami Seto yawned as he and his hikari made their way down the hallway a few days later, on their way to the Great Hall for lunch. They had just gotten out of their Transfiguration class, where Professor McGonagall had announced the upcoming Yule Ball before loading them all down with homework. Seto had a cute shade of red staining his face when the high priest looked over at him, about to ask him when he was going to ask Fleur to the dance. He laughed instead, making his hikari turn an even more vivid shade of crimson.  
  
"Urusai..." Seto muttered.  
  
Yami Seto grabbed him around the neck in a playful chokehold. "Aw, hikari, you're so KAWAII...!" he exclaimed, a dorky smile on his face. Seto rolled his eyes before pushing him off. "So, anyway," the high priest continued, still grinning, "how are you going to ask Fleur to the dance?"  
  
Seto stopped walking, rubbing the back of his neck. "I dunno," he admitted. "I've never had to ask a girl out before... I don't know if I should let her ask me out even. I mean... she IS a champion..."  
  
The high priest rolled his eyes good-naturedly. "You're asking me? My love advice is a little dated, and incomplete, all things considered," he said, before cracking his knuckles and wrapping an arm around his hikari's neck again, guiding him down the hallway. "From what I do know, flowers speak volumes..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Marik paced back and forth, sweating in nervousness, a fresh bouquet of flowers he had acquired with help from Professor Sprout in hand. He was in the hallway that Hermione frequented the most often, as it led to two of her classes as well as the library. There was no way that he could not run into her here; and when he did, he was going to apologize, give her the flowers, and ask her out to the Yule Ball. Everything would be all right again, and that's all that mattered.  
  
A door opened down the way, and Hermione entered the hallway. Screwing up his courage, Marik started toward her...  
  
Suddenly another door opened, and Viktor Krum entered the hall as well. Hermione smiled when she saw him, and Marik ducked behind a statue so as not to be seen. She walked up to the Bulgarian, and Marik felt his stomach twist into a knot as he saw that Krum was hiding a bouquet of roses behind his back.  
  
"What's wrong, Viktor?" Hermione asked. Marik blanched; they were on a first name basis? Since when?!  
  
"Hermy-own," Krum began, handing her the bouquet, "vould you like to be my date to the Yule Ball?"  
  
Marik felt his heart stop. Please say no... please say no...!  
  
Hermione giggled happily before throwing her arms around Krum's neck in a hug.  
  
"I'd love to," she said, taking the roses.  
  
Marik's mouth hung open in numb shock as Krum offered his arm. She took it, and the two of them walked off down the hallway, away from where the Egyptian was standing behind a statue. He looked at the flowers in his hand, a vile taste rising up in his throat, before he tossed the flowers onto the ground and stalked off.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yami Yugi sat at the Gryffindor table next to his hikari, a pleasant smile on his face as he ate lunch. Yugi kept glancing at him, confused by the pharaoh's manner. Harry, Ron, and Draco did not seem to notice; they were too busy rattling off names of girls that they could go to the Yule Ball with to notice the older boy's unease.  
  
"How about Cho Chang, Harry?" Draco offered. "You seemed to like her last year."  
  
Harry frowned bitterly. "She's going out with Cedric Diggory."  
  
Ron winced. "Ouch..."  
  
Draco sighed, taking a bite out of a sandwich before waving toward Yugi and Yami Yugi. "It's a shame that it isn't so simple for us to get dates. I take it you two will be going together."  
  
Yugi gave his other a furtive glance before sweatdropping. "Assuming Yami Bakura-kun doesn't kill him first."  
  
Yami Yugi looked down at his hikari, his eyebrow raised. "Now, aibou, what is it they say? 'He started it'? I'll be more than happy to finish it."  
  
All four of them sweatdropped, when someone from the Hufflepuff table screamed. Yami Yugi chuckled evilly as Yugi and the others either turned or craned their necks to see Yami Bakura spitting something he ate back out onto his plate. Harry frowned, concerned.  
  
"What was that about?" he asked.  
  
Yami Yugi just smiled pleasantly. "I dunno, but I imagine spiders don't taste very good."  
  
Draco and Ron blanched as Yugi made a face. "Mou hitori no boku! That's mean!"  
  
"No, that's payback," the pharaoh corrected.  
  
While they were talking, both Bakura and Yami Bakura made their way to the Gryffindor table. They hovered behind the pharaoh, who was just smiling up at them innocently. Both Bakuras returned the look, before Yami Bakura reached down and patted the pharaoh on the back, discreetly slipping something under the collar of his shirt that made his eyes grow wide.  
  
"How's it going, Pharaoh?" he asked, as Bakura patted Yami Yugi a little lower on the back, slipping the same something into his pants.  
  
"Quite cold in here isn't it?" Bakura asked casually. Yami Yugi sputtered several incoherent swear words, before getting up from his seat and bolting out of the room, nearly running Seto and Yami Seto over as they were coming in. The two of them shrugged, before going on to their own table.  
  
Yugi just shook his head. "You know how horrible it is to have ice down your back when you're wearing leather?"  
  
Yami Bakura just grinned. "I think we just found out."  
  
Bakura frowned slightly. "Yugi-kun, you know that your other self doesn't wear underwear, right?"  
  
Yugi sweatdropped, turning red. "I know... I know..."  
  
Ron sighed, shaking his head. "Bakura, do you have a date for the Yule Ball yet?"  
  
Bakura nodded, grinning slightly. "Yeah. I asked Susan Bones out. Have you seen her recently? She's kinda cute."  
  
Yami Bakura rolled his eyes. "Yeah, if you like farm girls. I'm glad my date's a little less down to earth."  
  
Draco's eyes widened. "Wait... you BOTH got dates!?"  
  
Bakura laughed at his expression. "Yup. We came to the conclusion that if we both had the same date, we'd drive her crazy by the end of the night."  
  
"Before the end of the night," Yami Bakura corrected.  
  
"Whatever."  
  
Harry and Ron exchanged stunned looks. "So... who's your date?" Ron asked.  
  
Yami Bakura suddenly started to fidget where he stood, rubbing the back of his neck, and Bakura giggled at his antics. The tomb robber spared him a glare, before answering, "Don't worry about it, you'll find out."  
  
He muttered something else under his breath, but only Bakura was close enough to hear him. The other boy giggled, before dragging his other self back to their table. Yugi, Harry, Ron, and Draco exchanged exasperated looks, before sighing in defeat. Just another typical day…  
  
"Hey, has anyone seen Marik today?" Harry asked suddenly.  
  
Yugi frowned, concerned. "No... he wasn't in the common room when I got up."  
  
"No one's in the common room when you get up," Ron returned playfully. Yugi stuck his tongue out at him childishly.  
  
"Maybe he finally made up with Hermione?" Draco suggested. "I don't see her here."  
  
"I don't think so," Harry said, shaking his head. "I saw her in the library with Krum before coming here."  
  
Yugi sighed, biting his lip. He hoped Marik was okay...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Late in the night, when everyone else had long gone to bed, found Marik on the observatory tower. He ran his hand along the railing, avoiding the school telescopes that had been set up for some project or other. Gazing up at the sky, he saw the stars winking in the inky darkness, as if they were trying to tell him some secret he did not understand.  
  
He paused a moment at the spot he had waited at for Hermione last year, before he turned eighteen. Soon he would be nineteen, but back then he never imagined that he would be in the situation he was in now. Stuck as a school champion, and without the one person he ever really cared about to support him; he was seriously starting to think that the only reason she would care about him was if he died.  
  
Marik dropped to his knees, resting his head on the low railing.  
  
"Hermione..." 


	17. The Yule Ball

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
SKYLA'S TREEHOUSE ~ SKYLA'S ROOM  
[Skyla and Yami Yugi come running into the room. Yami Yugi is beating Skyla over the head with a cardboard tube, while Skyla is trying the fend him off and hold onto a "Slayers Return" manga at the same time.]  
  
SKYLA: C'mon, pharaoh! I was reading manga!  
  
Y.YUGI: And you need to get this chapter out before you have a mob on your hands like the last time you took forever to update!  
  
SKYLA (pouting): Three people armed with tomatoes does not a mob make... besides, this chapter was really hard to write!  
  
Y.YUGI (cynically): Unh-hunh... hard to write while you were busy playing "Dawn of Destiny" for five hours, "Legend of Dragoon" for two days straight, and not to mention your nightly browsing sessions through the YGO yaoi section of Adult Fan Fiction.net.  
  
[Skyla sweatdrops.]  
  
SKYLA: Well, when you say it like that...  
  
[Yami Yugi glares.]  
  
SKYLA: All right... all right... yeesh... Hard ass.  
  
Y.YUGI: Better that than a procrastinator.  
  
[Skyla sweatdrops again, before turning to the readers.]  
  
SKYLA: No Q&A this time. I just want to get this chapter out before his highness-ness here has a cow.  
  
[Yami Yugi sweatdrops.]  
  
Y.YUGI: Um... Skyla... that's impossible...  
  
SKYLA (sighs): ANYway... you'll notice some differences in the Yule Ball, at least in reguards to Harry and Ron. Also, I don't know French. Forgive me if I screwed up. As always; read, enjoy, and then review!  
.  
.  
.  
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN - THE YULE BALL  
  
It never seemed the fail; the closer the date got to Christmas, the more homework the students of Hogwarts would be forced to suffer through. Of course, it was not anything that overly bothered Seto - he always did his homework the day it was assigned, often staying up till exhausting hours of the night until it was completed to his satisfaction. At least... that was what he USED to do. Since opening up to his other self, he was starting to force himself to take it easier. The rate he had been going at, he would have had a heart attack before he reached twenty-five years of age.  
  
That was why he was setting down his quill at nine o' clock in the evening the day before Christmas, even though he still had another scroll of Potions work left to do. He leaned back in his chair, letting every bone in his body pop satisfyingly as he stretched himself out like a cat. Taking up the scroll he just finished, he started rolling it up while glancing at the couch. His other self was lying out on it like the priest usually did when he was busy with homework, his laptop resting open on his chest. Yami Seto had his hand on the mouse pad, frowning slightly as he moved his finger about, commanding the cursor on screen.  
  
"Something wrong?" Seto asked.  
  
"Yeah," the high priest replied, "you've got all the technology in the world at your disposal, and your computer can't play 'OGG' files."  
  
Seto paused as he started to pack away his school supplies, fearing where this was going. "And what exactly are 'OOG' files?"  
  
"OGG," Yami Seto corrected, "and it's a kind of music file."  
  
Seto's eyebrow twitched. "And... what did you download that you need to find a whole separate music player?"  
  
Yami Seto grinned, sticking his tongue out in an expression that was meant to be adorable, but did not work on his face.  
  
"The Sailor Moon Memorial Music Box Collection," he replied.  
  
Seto felt a vein pop. "WHAT?!"  
  
The other Ravenclaws that were left in the common room gave him strange looks, but Seto ignored them, fixing his other self with a, "how dare you destroy my property" look. The high priest just rolled his eyes, and the young businessman could have sworn he heard Noah chuckling from the computer.  
  
"Relax, hikari, the biggest file is barely over two thousand kilobytes," he assured him.  
  
Seto groaned inwardly. "It's also TEN CDs long!"  
  
Yami Seto turned his gaze away from the computer, eyebrow raised. "How would you know?"  
  
Seto sweatdropped. "Because Mokuba has it."  
  
The high priest's eyebrows shot up into his hairline, before he started sniggering. Seto groaned audibly that time, shoving the rest of his school supplies into his bag before throwing it at his other, who easily deflected it with his elbow. Flopping against the back of his chair, he closed his eyes and muttered several cruel promises under his breath, as Yami Seto mellowed out a bit.  
  
"You're nervous about tomorrow, aren't you?" he asked.  
  
Seto opened one eye and fixed it on his other. "Whatever gave you that idea?" he replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm.  
  
Yami Seto chuckled, before reaching over to the coffee table that rested near the couch and grabbing a pair of headphones - the kind that wrapped around one's ear - he had set on it before. He inserted the jack into the proper slot, before offering his hikari one of the miniature speakers.  
  
"C'mon, listen to some of the music I downloaded, and help me look for a player," he offered. "Maybe it'll help calm your nerves."  
  
Seto frowned at the pro-offered headphone, but took it anyway. He pushed the armchair he was sitting in closer to the couch before clipping it on. His other had already set a song to play, and the soft melody flooded in over the tiny device.  
  
Wúlùn héshí wôchàng de geqû   
Zài wûtái shàng huòshì wô zìjî   
Wúlùn héshí wô shuo de huàyû   
Xiwàng tamen dou néng bèi tingjian   
Wô kànjian nî duì wô wéixiào   
Shì zhen háishì huàn  
Nî yông yuân zài nà xiâoxiâo ba tái de nâge jiâo lùo  
  
Seto's frown deepened, and he gave his other a questioning look. "Chinese?"  
  
Yami Seto shrugged as best as he could from the position he was laying in. "The file said it was supposed to be Japanese. Probably some idiot American that doesn't know the difference named it." ~~So, what's got you so stressed, other than the obvious?~~  
  
It took the young businessman a moment to realize that his other had gone from vocally speaking, to speaking through their mind link.  
  
~~I guess...~~ he began, ~~I don't know if I should tell Fleur about Kisara.~~  
  
~~You're afraid that if you did, she might take it the wrong way,~~ Yami Seto replied. ~~You're afraid she might think that's the only reason you want to be around her.~~  
  
~~Wouldn't you?~~ Seto returned, pointing out a website the high priest could try for the music player he was looking for.  
  
"'Winamp'? But, hikari, this thing doesn't run on Windows, does it?" Yami Seto asked aloud, while saying through their mind link, ~~Maybe... Fleur is obviously not that thrilled about what she is, or at least very insecure about it. I guess she wouldn't know how to take it if the man she cared about told her there was another spirit in her too. Then again, she may think that now we're on even footing, if you know what I mean.~~  
  
It took Seto a moment to process everything he had to say, considering his other was vocally speaking as well as mentally. It sounded like everything ran together, and his mind was having trouble separating one from the other.  
  
"Doesn't matter," he finally answered his vocal question, "I made the OS so it would work with anything, Microsoft or otherwise."  
  
~~I just don't want to make it look like I'm using her,~~ he replied to his mental speech. ~~Maybe I should wait until we're… I don't know; more comfortable with each other?~~  
  
Yami Seto smirked as he clicked on the download button for the program. ~~Don't sweat it, hikari. Remember, if you screw up, you could always find another girl from the thousands in the line that follows you around wherever you -~~  
  
The high priest was cut off as his hikari swatted him with a pillow from the couch.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Harry still could not figure out how he managed to do it. Somewhere, some higher power had to be smiling down at him, because when he asked Parvati Patel to go to the Yule Ball with him, she had accepted. Not only that, but she also convinced her sister, Padma, to go out with Marik; not that she needed much convincing. If the rumors were true, she had been eyeing the Egyptian since their first year. Ron had somehow managed to swallow his pride and asked Eloise Midgen out. Harry had to admit, now that her acne had more or less cleared up, they made a cute couple, but he would never say that to Ron's face. He did not recognize the girl Draco had gotten as a date, though she did seem to be an older student.  
  
Harry, Ron, and their respective dates had accidentally bumped into Bakura, his yami, and their dates in the entrance hall as they waited with other students for the ball to start at eight o' clock. Bakura and Susan Bones looked absolutely adorable together, and the two of them giggled when Parvati said as much. Yami Bakura's date however... she hid behind the tomb robber as soon as Ron spotted her. Ron blinked, hardly believing his eyes, before turning an interesting shade of green.  
  
"Ginny!" he exclaimed. "What the... why the... YOU'RE his date?!"  
  
Yami Bakura's entire face was so hot with embarrassment - his hikari looking like he was going to bust a gut from laughing so hard did not help any - it seemed as if even his hair was blushing. Ginny shuffled out from behind the tomb robber, not looking at her brother.  
  
"Well... it was the only way I could go too," she said, before turning red herself. "Besides, Yami Bakura's really cute."  
  
Ron looked like he was either going to die of shock, or strangle Yami Bakura. Harry put a restraining hand on his shoulder, before he could get any ideas, before turning to the tomb robber.  
  
"And... you're always calling Marik a cradle robber?" he asked.  
  
Bakura was outright SNIGGERING at his other's predicament; Susan was looking like she was enjoying the conversation as well. Yami Bakura spared them both a withering glance, before responding to Harry's question.  
  
"Harry, I'm five thousand, twenty-five years old... give or take a few years. I don't think it matters much."  
  
Ron was almost as red as his hair, and he looked like he was going to knock the tomb robber flat. Eloise gave Harry a concerned look, before steering her date away from a possibly dangerous situation.  
  
It was then that Professor McGonagall called for the school champions. Harry said good bye - he wished Ginny's sanity good luck, only to result in further embarrassment to the tomb robber - before he and Parvati went up to the double doors of the Great Hall where the professor and the other champions were already assembled. They were to wait by the doors as the other student entered the Hall first, and then would enter in procession themselves. Fleur and Seto stood closest to the doors; Seto looked like he was trying to hide his nervousness behind his "cold businessman" act, but it was not working as well as it usually did. Marik and Padma stood by Harry, though it seemed as if the Egyptian could care less about his date, or anything else for that matter. He was fixing a look of the deepest loathing on Krum, and it did not take long for Harry to figure out why.  
  
He hardly recognized her at first, which was sort of understandable, considering he only ever saw her in her school robes and not the floaty, periwinkle-blue robes she was currently wearing. Once she waved to him and said hello, however, a name attached itself to her in his brain, and his jaw almost dropped.  
  
Hermione.  
  
Marik was not the only one giving the couple dirty looks. The fan club Krum had gathered since he had arrived at Hogwarts were tossing looks similar to the ones Marik was giving her date as they stalked past. Even Ecillia, who was on the arm of Marcus Flint, was glaring at her, though Harry suspected it was because Hermione looked a heck of a lot prettier than she did.  
  
Once everyone was assembled, the champions proceeded into the Hall, walking in with their dates on arm. The students from all three schools applauded enthusiastically as they made their way to the top of the hall, where Dumbledore, Madame Maxime, Professor Karkaroff, Ludo Bagman, and Percy Weasley of all people were waiting for them.  
  
As soon as they reached the main table, Percy caught Harry's eye and pointedly pulled out the chair next to him. He got the hint, leading Parvati over to the two seats nearest to Percy, remembering to be courteous and help his date into her seat before sitting down himself.  
  
"I've been promoted," Percy announced as he sat down, a look on his face so smug that it should have been illegal. "I'm now Mr. Crouch's personal assistant and I'm here representing him."  
  
"Great," Harry replied dully, all but saying that he really did not care.  
  
Dinner started soon after, but instead of Dumbledore summoning the food from the kitchens for everyone like he usually did, each person had a menu from which they could order. Harry kept his order simple - when it came to the dancing part, he did not want to get sick. Seto, however, ordered some kind of beef and sauce dish; it had to have been French, because Fleur looked impressed.  
  
The dinner passed more or less without incident, though the fact that Marik was hardly eating anything and spending most of the dinner glaring at Krum had Harry a bit concerned. Hermione ignored him, and instead was anxiously chatting with her date, who was trying desperately to try to pronounce her name correctly. Seto seemed to have relaxed a bit, and was speaking quietly with Fleur, who seemed happy about something he was saying.  
  
All too soon, the plates were cleared along with the tables, and a group of extremely hairy witches dressed in torn robes trooped up onto the stage set up before where tables had been. Harry had been so busy staring at the strange music group, that he almost forgot that the champions were supposed to lead off the dance. He almost tripped over his own robes in surprise when Parvati tugged him to get his attention. He recovered quickly enough, though, remembering to put a hand on her waist as they started dancing.  
  
Parvati looked impressed. "I thought you said you didn't know how to dance?"  
  
Harry grinned sheepishly. "I grabbed a quick lesson from Seto a few hours before."  
  
She giggled. "Cutting it a little close, aren't you?"  
  
There was a yelp, and Harry looked over his shoulder to see that, while they were talking, other students had joined the champions on the dance floor. The yelp had come from Susan, because Bakura had trod on her foot. Harry grinned, nodding over to the couple as Bakura apologized profusely.  
  
"Would you rather I be doing that?"  
  
Parvati giggled, and Harry spared a moment to look for the other champions. Seto and Fleur had disappeared once the other students had joined the dance floor. Krum and Hermione were still around, and Marik had wandered off to one of the side tables at the first opportunity, much to Padma's obvious frustration. Harry frowned inwardly; he wanted to help Marik, but he knew that there was nothing he could really do for him. Besides, he would never admit it, but he was enjoying himself. He was not about to leave the dance floor anytime soon.  
  
Elsewhere on the floor, Yami Bakura and Ginny gave up on attempting to dance. While Ginny made a good effort toward it, the tomb robber quickly found out that it was not as easy as the pharaoh and his hikari were making it look. He watched dully as they twirled past them again, kicking at the floor in annoyance. He felt guilty in a sort of un-Yami-Bakura-ish way - damn his hikari for rubbing off on him. Ginny looked kind of disappointed that the dance was not as fun as she thought it would be.  
  
"Well..." Yami Bakura began. "We can probably do one of two things. We can both sneak off and do something else somewhere else. Or... we could cause some havoc down here...?"  
  
He had a sinister grin on his face as he offered the last suggestion, and Ginny just had to laugh.  
  
"You know," she said, "my brother's going to kill me if we cause havoc."  
  
Yami Bakura waved a dismissive hand. "No, he's just going to be mad at you. Me, on the other hand, he's going to kill regardless. All things considered though, it's a bit of a moot point."  
  
Ginny giggled again, before nodding out to the dance floor. "Well, any ideas?"  
  
Yami Bakura look out on the dance floor as well, frowning slightly. Just then, he caught sight of Ecillia and Flint dancing. He grinned devilishly, tossing Ginny a wink before running a hand through his hair, mussing it up.  
  
"I still owe her for giving me pink hair last year," he said, standing up.  
  
He started walking toward where Ecillia and Flint were dancing, stumbling along as if he were drunk. Ginny had to put a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from bursting into hysterical giggles, as Yami Bakura broke Ecillia and Flint apart, grabbing the Slytherin girl and spinning her about. His mouth moved to form the words, "Pretty ugly little ferret," before giving her a sloppy wet kiss on the mouth. The tomb robber stumbled off, as Ecillia started spitting and wiping her mouth, as if he had left a foul taste on her.  
  
Yami Bakura straightened out his walk as soon as he was within sight of where Ginny was sitting; who was trying so hard not to laugh that she nearly had tears in her eyes.  
  
"You're so evil!" she exclaimed.  
  
Yami Bakura just grinned roguishly. "Comes in the packaging," he said, before holding out a hand to her. "C'mon. Lemme show you something nice."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The night air was cool and crisp, but Seto did not notice it much, as his dress robes were warm enough for the outside. Fleur's robes, however, were made of a gauzy, thin material. When she shivered, Seto took his outer robe off and wrapped it around her shoulders. She smiled up at him when he wrapped an arm around her shoulders to add to warming her up, as they walked down a pathway that had been created through the snow. Terraces had been set up above the path, and vines and flowers where twined within the woodwork. Real live fairies darted amongst the flowers above, giving a truly mystical look to everything.  
  
"Zis iz very beautiful," Fleur said lazily, walking a little closer to Seto. He smiled down at her warmly as they approached a statue of Father Christmas and his reindeer. They stood before it, hand in hand, looking at each other.  
  
"Fleur..." Seto began, still at war with himself. "There's something I... I really want to tell you, but... I don't know..."  
  
Fleur reached up, putting a hand over his mouth, silencing him. "Itz all right," she said. "You can tell me when you are ready."  
  
He shook his head, however. "It's not that... I SHOULD tell you. I'm never going to forgive myself if I don't."  
  
She bit her lip, before nodding in understanding. Seto took a moment, trying to calm his heart, before continuing.  
  
"Fleur... that day that you passed out," he explained, "you woke up almost right away... but it wasn't you that was in control of your body."  
  
It was his turn to bite his lip as she frowned. "Zeto, what are you zaying?"  
  
Seto winced at her tone. "I'm saying that you have a spirit within you as well... but she's different from my other self. She IS a part of you, and she can only appear when you're unconscious."  
  
Fleur was silent for a long, nerve-wracking moment, her expression unreadable, before she finally asked, "Who iz she?"  
  
He took a deep breath. "Her name is Kisara. She... she was a foreign woman who ended up in Egypt five thousand years ago... where she met my other self... and where she also died."  
  
Seto kept his eyes down, unable to bring himself to look her in the eyes. Fleur surprised him, though, suddenly throwing herself into her arms. He looked at her then, only to see that she was clutching at his dress shirt tightly and her eyes were squeezed shut.  
  
"Fleur..."  
  
She shook her head. "I... I think that's why... I've never felt zis way before..." She turned a tearful gaze back up at him. "Many times, I feel like I always have to zee you, zat I am dependant on you. I don't understand zis feeling. Iz zis because of fate?"  
  
Seto shook his head. "I don't believe in fate, as much as my other tries to convince me that such a thing exists. All I believe in is what is going on in the present... and one of those things I believe in are my feelings for you."  
  
It took a moment for what he said to sink in. Fleur looked up in surprise, and Seto - caught off guard by his own daring - took that moment to swoop down and kiss her. She tensed up at first, apparently not expecting him to do such a thing, before melting into the kiss, reaching up to wrap her arms around his neck. An eternity seemed to pass until the need for air forced the two of them apart.  
  
Seto leaned his forehead against hers, smiling gently. "Merii Kurisumasu."  
  
Fleur laughed softly, before she returned, "Jovial Noel."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yami Bakura made sure Ginny was nestled securely in front of him on the tree branch they sat on, before whisking off the blindfold he had tied over her eyes. She realized almost right away exactly high up off the ground they where - and in a tree within the forbidden forest no less - and instinctively reached to grab a hold of him. The tomb robber chuckled in spite of himself, wrapping an arm around her waist to calm her down.  
  
"It's all right," he assured her. "I wouldn't let you fall. Look."  
  
He pointed up to the sky above, and Ginny gasped at the sight. One could not ask for a clearer night sky, as all the stars in existence seemed to be winking down at them from the heavens. The tomb robber reached out a hand, seemingly grabbing some of the sparkling diamonds that were far beyond his reach.  
  
"It used to be like this in Khemet," Yami Bakura explained. "The air was pure back then, and you did not have to be so high up in order to see the jewels in the sky." He smiled fondly. "This was always my favorite treasure. It was something that I didn't have to steal, didn't have to work for, and no pharaoh could take it away from me..."  
  
He fell silent, lost in reminiscence. Ginny swiveled her head around to look up at him.  
  
"Do you miss it?" she asked. "The past, I mean."  
  
Yami Bakura bit his lip in thought. "Some things, yes," he admitted. "I miss traveling through the desert at night on horseback. Sometimes, if you had a fast enough steed, it would almost feel like you were flying. I miss the bars and taverns, where good food and good drinks were always aplenty."  
  
Ginny smiled at the thoughts that came to her mind at his words; thoughts of a time long past, where while life was harsh, the world just seemed so much... freer.  
  
"Do you miss your family?"  
  
Yami Bakura paused, truly mulling over the question. "Terribly," he whispered. "They were gone long before I died... but... it doesn't hurt so much any more... it doesn't ache like it used to. Maybe Ryou's just rubbing off on me."  
  
"Or... maybe you're just growing up, moving on," Ginny suggested.  
  
The tomb robber looked up at the stars above. Moving on...? Could someone even move on from witnessing the destruction of an entire village? It had always seemed impossible to him, that he had inherited the hate of his fellow villagers as he witnessed their bodies being molded together... but had the time for him to let it go pass long ago? The God of Evil was not controlling him anymore, so why did he let the hate that Necrophadisu had fed on plague him still?  
  
He could not forget... but he needed to let go.  
  
Yami Bakura tightened his hold on Ginny in a hug, burying his face in her flaming red hair.  
  
"Thank you," he murmured, his voice muffled.  
  
She blinked, surprised by his actions. "For what?"  
  
"For being so honest."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Hermione was one of the last to return to the Gryffindor common room that night. Clouds seemed to be holding her up as she walked; she had had such a wonderful time dancing with Viktor, that she hoped there would be another dance later on in the year. Who would have thought that someone who could barely pronounce her name would be so enjoyable to be around?  
  
She was about to head off to the girl's dormitory, when the sound of snoring coming from the couch caught her attention. Curious, she went over to look, only to see Marik - still in his dress robes - passed out on the furniture. Apparently, he had left the ball early and came back to the tower to cry himself to sleep, because she could see trails of black where tears had run through the kohl that he always applied every morning. Hermione scoffed at the sad sight, before continuing on to her dorm.  
  
~~Don't you think you should help him?~~ Aishisu's voice invaded her thoughts. Hermione just frowned.  
  
~~No,~~ she returned. ~~Let him stay like that. I don't care.~~  
  
She could just barely make out her other muttering under her breath in Egyptian.  
  
~~My light, you are too stubborn for your own good,~~ Aishisu accused. ~~Can you seriously tell me you genuinely enjoyed yourself tonight?~~  
  
Hermione came to a halt, her lips pursed tightly, ready to tell the priestess exactly that...  
  
...but she could not do it.  
  
She did not have fun... not like she would have... if...  
  
~~It doesn't matter, I don't care,~~ Hermione repeated, before continuing on to her dorm. The only other thing she heard from her other half for the rest of the night was an exasperated sigh. 


	18. Giant Circumstances

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
I felt guilty about taking so long on the last update, so I hurried up and wrote a new chapter right away. ^^;;  
  
Um... yeah, kinda obvious, but the article that starts this chapter off was excerpted from the book, with the obvious changes. Also, according to my Japanese translator, "akuhu" means "wicked woman". ^_^  
  
Oh, and to the person who so RUDELY pointed out that I put the wrong French word in the last chapter...  
  
::twapsmackTHUD::  
  
Grr... I said I didn't know French! I had to use a crappy translator at the last moment. Shaddup! :P  
  
^_^;;;  
  
Anyway, as always; read, enjoy, and then review.  
.  
.  
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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN - GIANT CIRCUMSTANCES  
  
DUMBLEDORE'S GIANT MISTAKE  
  
Albus Dumbledore, eccentric headmaster of  
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry,  
has never been afraid to make controversial  
staff appointments, writes Rita Skeeter,  
Special Correspondent. In September of this  
year, he hired Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody, the  
notoriously jinx-happy ex-Auror, to teach Defense  
Against the Dark Arts, a decision that caused  
many raised eyebrows at the Ministry of Magic,  
given Moody's well-known habit of attacking  
anybody who makes a sudden movement in his presence.  
Mad-Eye Moody, however, looks responsible and  
kindly when set beside the part-human Dumbledore  
employs to teach Care of Magical Creatures.  
Rubeus Hagrid, who admits to being expelled  
from Hogwarts in his third year, has enjoyed the  
position of gamekeeper at the school ever since,  
a job secured for him by Dumbledore. Last year,  
however, Hagrid used his mysterious influence over  
the headmaster to secure the additional post of  
Care of Magical Creatures teacher, over the heads  
of many better-qualified candidates.  
An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking  
man, Hagrid has been using his newfound authority  
to terrify the students in his care with a succession  
of horrific creatures. While Dumbledore turns a  
blind eye, Hagrid has maimed several pupils during a  
series of lessons that many admit to being "very  
frightening."  
"I was attacked by a hippogriff, and my  
friend Vincent Crabbe got a bad bite off a  
flobberworm," says Ecillia Lestrange, a fourth-year  
student. "We all hate Hagrid, but we're just too  
scared to say anything."  
Hagrid has no intention of ceasing his  
campaign of intimidation, however. In conversation  
with a Daily Prophet reporter last month, he admitted  
breeding creatures he has dubbed "Blast-Ended Skrewts,"  
highly dangerous crosses between manticores and fire-  
crabs. The creation of new breeds of magical creature  
is, of course, an activity usually closely observed by  
the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical  
Creatures. Hagrid, however, considers himself to be  
above such petty restrictions.  
"I was just having some fun," he says, before  
hastily changing the subject.  
As if this were not enough, the Daily Prophet  
has now unearthed evidence that Hagrid is not - as he  
has always pretended - a pure-blood wizard. He is not,  
in fact, even pure human. His mother, we can  
exclusively reveal, is none other than the giantess  
Fridwulfa, whose whereabouts are currently unknown.  
Bloodthirsty and brutal, the giants brought  
themselves to the point of extinction by warring  
amongst themselves during the last century. The  
handful that remained joined the ranks of He-Who-Must-  
Not-Be-Named, and were responsible for some of the worst  
mass Muggle killings of his reign of terror.  
While many of the giants who served He-Who-Must  
-Not-Be-Named were killed by Aurors working against  
the Dark Side, Fridwulfa was not among them. It is  
possible she escaped to one of the giant communities  
still existing in foreign mountain ranges. If his  
antics during Care of Magical Creatures lessons are any  
guide, however, Fridwulfa's son appears to have  
inherited her brutal nature.  
In a bizarre twist, Hagrid is reputed to have  
developed a close friendship with the boy who brought  
around You-Know-Who's fall from power - thereby driving  
Hagrid's own mother, like the rest of You-Know-Who's  
supporters, into hiding. Perhaps Harry Potter is unaware  
of the unpleasant truth about his large friend - but  
Albus Dumbledore surely has a duty to ensure that Harry  
Potter, along with his fellow students, is warned about  
the dangers of associating with part-giants.  
  
As calmly as he could, Seto folded up his copy of that day's Daily Prophet, his teeth visibly clenched tight and his hands shaking in his anger. That week after the Christmas holidays, when the others had told him that Hagrid was not teaching Care of Magical Creatures anymore, he instantly went to find out why. That was why when a student near him at the Ravenclaw table received a copy of the newspaper in the mail that morning; he asked to see it (scaring the student in the process). After reading the article the first time, he snapped the paper closed and dragged his yami and Fleur over to the Gryffindor table. Curious about his actions, Yami Bakura and Bakura had joined him.  
  
After reading the article to their entire group of friends, there was a long, drawn out silence, before Marik slammed a fist against the table, startling everyone in range. He stood up, his eyes flashing with more emotion than he had shown since the Yule Ball.  
  
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" he shouted. "She had no right to publish something like that!"  
  
Fleur looked up at him, alarmed. "I take it zis 'Agrid iz not as ze article zays?"  
  
"Far from it, Ms. Delacour," Draco answered. "Hagrid's a great man. The thing about the hippogriff was Ecillia's own damn fault; you're not supposed to insult a hippogriff, and she did. It was Hagrid that ran her all the way up to the castle when she got hurt. I don't know what they're talking about when they say a 'bite from a flobberworm'. They don't even have teeth!"  
  
"What I'd like to know is how she GOT this information," Yami Bakura said, tapping his fingers on the table angrily.  
  
Ron and Harry exchanged guilty looks. "Well... we overheard Hagrid talking to Madame Maxime during the Yule Ball," Harry admitted. "He told her that he was half giant, and asked her what side of her family she got her 'giant-ness' from."  
  
Fleur tisked disapprovingly. "It iz improper to ask a lady such a t'ing," she scoffed. "We all know zat Madame Maxime iz 'alf-giantezz herzelf. We do not inquire az to where she getz it from."  
  
Yami Yugi frowned, crossing his arms. "Hagrid was probably so happy to encounter someone like him, that he did not think it would be insulting to Madame Maxime."  
  
Fleur was quiet at that, having nothing to really say. Seto put a hand on her shoulder.  
  
"It still doesn't give her any right to print an article like this," Yugi said with a pout, leaning against his other self.  
  
"Not only that, but - assuming she learned most of her information from that conversation - how could she have gotten close enough to hear it?" Bakura asked. "Dumbledore banned her from the grounds."  
  
Yami Seto drummed his fingers on the table, looking at his hikari out of the corner of his eye. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking, aibou?"  
  
Seto snorted, smirking. "First person to play a Yami-no-Game against Rita Skeeter gets a free week at Kaiba Land."  
  
Bakura and Yami Bakura looked at each other in surprise, before a twin set of sinister smiles appeared on their faces. They got up at the same time and ran off, more than likely to go plot against the annoying reporter. Those remaining exchanged alarmed looks.  
  
"Are zay alwayz like zat?" Fleur asked.  
  
"Yami Bakura, yes," Yugi answered. "Bakura..."  
  
"His yami's a bad influence on him," Yami Yugi provided, frowning.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Before they were going to go to Hogsmeade the second Saturday of January, Yugi and Marik went off to Hagrid's hut to see if he was okay after a whole two weeks of not seeing him. On the way, they passed by the Durmstrang ship just in time to see Viktor Krum appear on deck, clad only in a pair of swimming trunks. Marik growled as the Bulgarian dived head first into the freezing water of the lake.  
  
"I hope he gets hypothermia, or swallowed by the squid," he snarled, stalking the rest of the way to the hut. Yugi sweatdropped as he followed him, not really able to comment on that.  
  
Marik walked right up to the door of the hut, pounding on it as loud as he could. "Hagrid! It's Marik and Yugi! Open up!"  
  
The only response they got was the sound of Fang barking. Marik banged on the door louder, but once again did not get a response.  
  
"What's he avoiding us for?" Yugi asked. "Afraid we'd send him to the Shadow Realm for lying to us?"  
  
Marik frowned. "What lie? He just didn't tell us."  
  
"You know what I mean."  
  
The Egyptian sighed, giving up. They made their way back to the carriages that would take them to Hogsmeade. The ride to the wizard village seemed to take longer than normal, mostly because Marik knew that he would not be hanging out with Hermione when he got there. He did not know what he was going to do; maybe it would just be better for him to cut his losses and give up. All things considered, he probably would save himself a few gray hairs if he courted another girl. There was this really cute seventh year he had bumped into in the halls once…  
  
Once they got to the village, they split off almost right away. Ron, Harry, Draco and Yami Bakura went to the Three Broomsticks to see if Hagrid had arrived ahead of them. Seto had dragged his yami off, muttering something about "flowers", "birthday present", and "Fleur" in the same sentence. Yugi, Yami Yugi, Bakura, and Marik went wandering around town, trying to see if the groundskeeper was meandering around in any of the stores.  
  
After spending a good hour in Honeydukes (their last stop) to restock their candy supplies, the four of them went to the Three Broomsticks themselves, having no luck in seeking out Hagrid elsewhere. The pub was crowded, as usual, and it was a bit difficult to move. Yugi, Bakura, and Marik managed to worm their way to a booth, while Yami Yugi went to get all of them drinks.  
  
"Still no sign of Hagrid," the pharaoh announced when he was able to rejoin them, setting down a plate of four mugs full of butterbeer. "You don't really think Dumbledore sacked him, do you?"  
  
"I don't think he would do that," Bakura said as they each took a mug. "I mean, I imagine Dumbledore already knew about it, otherwise, I doubt he would even let him in the school."  
  
Marik was about to reply, when none other than Rita Skeeter walked into the pub, her photographer in tow as always. They bought their drinks at the bar, Rita's banana yellow robes clashing drastically amongst the more sober-colored robes of the other people there, before the two of them made their way to a table near the four boys' booth. Rita was talking fast, as always, and had a satisfied smirk on her face.  
  
"...didn't seem very keen to talk to us, did he, Bozo?" she was saying. "And what's he doing with a pack of goblins in tow anyway? Reckon something's up? Think we should do a bit of digging? 'Disgraced Ex-Head of Magical Games and Sports, Ludo Bagman...' Snappy start to a sentence. We just need to find a story to -"  
  
"Trying to ruin someone else's life?" Marik said loudly, standing up. A few people nearby looked around in surprise. Rita's eyes widened when she saw who had spoken to her.  
  
"Champion Ishitar!" she exclaimed. "How wonderful! Why don't you and your friends come and join -"  
  
"We wouldn't go near you with a ten foot broomstick," Bakura snarled, the look on his face a good impersonation of his yami's evil sneer. "What'd you have to go and print that horrid article on Hagrid for, ne?"  
  
Rita raised an eyebrow, visibly a little unnerved by the look on his face.  
  
"Our readers have the right to know the truth, Mr.... Bakura, is it? I am merely -"  
  
"Who cares if he's half giant?" Yami Yugi cut her off, shouting. "There's nothing wrong with him!"  
  
A hush had fallen over the pub. Madame Rosmerta was staring at the confrontation; oblivious to the fact the flagon she had been filling with mead was now overflowing. Rita's smile faltered for just a moment, obviously not used to being talked back to in such a manner, before she hitched it back up again. She snapped open her crocodile-skin handbag, pulling out her Quick-Quotes Quill.  
  
"Well, then, how about giving me an interview about the Hagrid YOU know, gentlemen," she proposed. "The man behind the muscles? You and your friends' unlikely friendship and the reasons behind it? Would you call him a replacement father to Harry Potter?"  
  
Yugi stood up abruptly, clutching his butterbeer. "You horrid akuhu," he accused angrily. "You don't care about anything, do you? Just as long as you get a story, hunh? Even Bagman-san -"  
  
"Sit down, you silly little boy, and don't talk about things you don't understand," Rita cut him off sharply. "I know things about Ludo Bagman that would make your hair stand on end... NOT that it needs it."  
  
Yugi's mouth twisted into a scowl that was hardly ever seen on his face. He pushed his way around his yami, and the pharaoh gave him a concerned look, afraid of what he was going to do.  
  
"Keep acting like that, and you'll be all washed up," he returned, "not that YOU need it."  
  
Rita narrowed her eyes. "And what is that supposed to mean?"  
  
Yugi could not ask for a better opening; he tossed his drink right into Rita's face. She backpedaled, caught off guard by such an action from such a "little boy". He marched right out of the Three Broomsticks, not bothering to wait for her response, his three companions hot on his heels as he made his way to one of the carriages that had taken them to the village.  
  
"Now you've done it, Yugi-kun," Marik said. "She'll be after you next."  
  
"Let her try," Yugi replied hotly, making to climb into the carriage. "First Harry, now Hagrid. Someone's gotta put a stop to her. If I get the chance, I'm gonna be the one to do it, and I don't care if I have to stoop down to Yami Bakura-kun's level to do it. I've HAD IT!"  
  
Yami Yugi blinked in surprise. He had never seen his aibou act in such a manner before, and it was strange, yet oddly cute at the same time. No wonder he liked him so much.  
  
"She'll probably try and drag up something on you," Bakura pointed out, following Yugi into the carriage. "All things considered, that could be bad, you know..."  
  
"I don't care," Yugi said as Marik and Yami Yugi climbed in as well. "My ojii-chan and okaa-san don't read the Daily Prophet, and neither does Jonouchi-kun or any of the others."  
  
"What about your fan following?" Marik asked with a chuckle as the carriage started back toward the castle.  
  
Yugi sweatdropped. "The fewer of those crazy people around, the better."  
  
As soon as the carriages returned them to the castle grounds, Yugi flung himself out with the others not the far behind. He stomped up to Hagrid's hut, pounding on the door as hard as he could.  
  
"Hagrid!" he shouted as loud as he could. "Hagrid, that's enough! We know you're in there! Nobody cares if your okaa-san was a giantess, Hagrid! You can't let that baka Skeeter woman do this to you! Hagrid, you get out here now, you're just being -!"  
  
The door swung open, and Yugi managed to get out, "It's about t-!" before he quickly stopped himself, finding himself face to face with Dumbledore instead of Hagrid.  
  
"Good afternoon," he said pleasantly as Yugi paled.  
  
"We... uh... wanted to see Hagrid..." Yugi said in a small voice that almost made his other laugh out loud.  
  
"I hadn't noticed," Dumbledore replied, his eyes twinkling in amusement. "Why don't you come in?"  
  
Yugi turned an adorable shade of red as Yami Yugi "helped" him step into the hut, Marik and Bakura following behind with smirks on their faces. Fang all but glomped the latter boy as he entered, giving his ear a through cleaning courtesy of his tongue. Bakura managed to fend him off as they approached the table, where Hagrid was sitting clutching a giant mug of tea. To be blunt about it, the groundskeeper looked like a mess, as if he had been crying for the past two weeks straight.  
  
"Yo, Hagrid," Marik said tentatively.  
  
"'Lo," Hagrid replied in a weak voice.  
  
The boys sat down at the table, and Dumbledore conjured up smaller teacups for them. There was a very pregnant pause, before the headmaster asked, "Did you hear what Mr. Mutou was shouting about, Hagrid?"  
  
Yugi's face tinged pink, and he tried to occupy himself with his tea as Dumbledore smiled. "It seems Yugi, Panseru, Marik, and Ryou still want you around, Hagrid," he continued, "judging from the way they were trying to break down the door."  
  
"Of course we still want you around!" Yami Yugi exclaimed, giving Hagrid a meaningful look. "You can't honestly think anything that camel shit, Skeeter... eh... sorry, Professor."  
  
"I have gone temporarily deaf and haven't an idea what you said, pharaoh," Dumbledore replied innocently, staring up at the ceiling.  
  
Yami Yugi grinned sheepishly. "At least I wasn't the one that threw my drink in her face."  
  
Yugi whole body seemed to turn red as he slid lower in his seat, trying to disappear. Bakura chuckled, making him slide back up into his seat properly.  
  
"Anyway, what I'm trying to say is," Yami Yugi continued, "how could you even think we'd care about what that... WOMAN writes about you? We know the real you, Hagrid. That's all that matters."  
  
"Living proof of what I've been telling you, Hagrid," Dumbledore said softly.  
  
Hagrid snorted loudly, tears falling out of his beetle-black eyes. "It don' matter. All's it takes is one paren' who dunna like th' thought 'o their child bein' taugh' by a 'alf-giant, and I'm done for. All because 'a a moth'r I've never seen."  
  
Marik was about to reply, when someone else cut him off.  
  
"We can't choose our parents, no matter how horrible they are... or what they do."  
  
Everyone turned in surprise to see Yami Seto standing in the doorframe. He shrugged a bit sheepishly, before walking up to them, closing the door behind him.  
  
"The door was open," he explained. "I heard what happened in the Three Broomsticks, and considering what it was about, I figured I'd find you guys here."  
  
Yugi blushed again as Yami Seto went over to Hagrid's side. He rested an arm on the half-giant's shoulder comfortingly.  
  
"Hagrid..." he began softly, "I know better than anyone what you're feeling right now. It's a horrible experience, to be betrayed by someone you barely even know. The fact that they're related to you makes it that much worse."  
  
"Seto..." Yami Yugi murmured quietly. The high priest just shook his head, chasing away tears that had threatened, before punching Hagrid in the arm. It was a light punch, not meant to hurt, but just meant as a wake-up call.  
  
"C'mon, Hagrid," he said. "You've been through worse than this: a dragon, being blamed for releasing the basilisk. The fact that your mom is a giantess just makes you that much more unique, and shouldn't be looked at as a mistake, don't you think?"  
  
Hagrid let out a tired sounding laugh, more tear leaking from his eyes and trailing down into his tangled beard. He gave each of them a brave smile, though, before thumping Yami Seto on the back with enough force to almost send him sprawling onto the table.  
  
"Thank yeh," he said. "Thank yeh, all of yeh." 


	19. The Second Task

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
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Ugh... sorry once again on how long everything is taking to come out. Thanks to everyone who's been patient with me despite my erratic updates. Now that my new webpage is sort of up again, I'll hopefully be able to update faster.  
  
As always, read, enjoy, and then review.  
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CHAPTER NINETEEN - THE SECOND TASK  
  
"Marik! Marik-kun, wake up!"  
  
Marik jerked awake when Yugi shook his arm. He sat up in his desk chair, giving Ron, Harry, Yami Yugi, and Draco apologetic looks as he did so. They were in their Charms class, where they were supposed to be learning the opposite of the Summoning Charm - the Banishing Spell - but it was not going overly well. People who had poor aim, like Neville, were sending objects that were not meant to be banished across the room so often that it was almost impossible to do anything. Marik had set his head down to rest when Professor Flitwick buzzed by for the umpteenth time, only to fall asleep in his tiredness.  
  
Truth be told, his nerves were shot to hell. Hermione had gone back to pointedly ignoring the fact he existed... and then there was the second task, the reason why he had fallen asleep in class. After finally figuring out what exactly he was supposed to do from the cryptic message in the golden egg, he was presented with a bit of a problem. The second task involved a lot of swimming in water...  
  
...and Marik did not know how to swim.  
  
Of course, with his luck, the only person out of his group of friends that even remotely knew how to swim was Seto. After a few good jibes at each other, the boy businessman agreed to teach him how to swim, but there was just one other problem. The only place adequate enough for the swimming lessons was the lake.  
  
Ice-cold water in the middle of February was FAR from pleasant.  
  
Other than the swimming part of the task - which he was pretty sure he had down pat by now - the rest of it seemed fairly easy. He had taught himself how to perform a Bubblehead Charm so he could stay underwater for a long time. All he had to worry about was rescuing the whatever it was that was supposed to be precious to him, and bring it back before the time limit. Really, how hard could it be?  
  
"So, what were you guys talking about?" he asked, fighting back a yawn.  
  
"Professor Moody," Draco supplied. "Harry thinks he might be spying on Snape."  
  
"It's rather obvious, Draco," Harry protested, exasperated. "Snape said he caught Moody searching through his store rooms."  
  
Yami Yugi cut in before Draco could respond. "If not Snape, then he at least may be keeping an eye on Karkaroff," the pharaoh reasoned. "I caught the two of them having a glaring match in the hallway one day. It looked like they were going to attack each other any minute."  
  
Yugi shook his head, biting his lip. "I don't know, mou hitori no boku. I just get the feeling that Moody isn't telling us something."  
  
Ron frowned. "Why's that?"  
  
Yugi just shrugged. "I dunno. I just don't think Snape's the bad guy here. I mean, he's never tried to kill us, except with homework. And he DID help us out last year."  
  
"Only because Dumbledore told him to," Harry grumbled as Ron face-palmed.  
  
"Homework!" he exclaimed. "I forgot to do the Potions essay! Draco, can I copy off of you?"  
  
"No way!" Draco replied, sending a cushion - what they were supposed to be using the Banishing Charm on - flying toward the box that was supposed to be the target. "Bad enough Snape isn't that favorable with me since I went to Gryffindor. I don't want to push his buttons."  
  
Ron turned a pleading look to Yugi.  
  
"Forget it," Yugi and Yami Yugi said at the same time.  
  
"Harry, please!" Ron protested.  
  
Harry just raised an eyebrow. "You think I did mine?"  
  
"Marik...?"  
  
Marik just gave him a tired look. Ron groaned pitifully, burying his face in his arms.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The morning of the second task dawned bright and cold. Marik was not trying to eat that much for breakfast; since he was going to be underwater for at least an hour, he did not want to make himself sick. Since he was not preoccupied with eating, he was able to notice a few things; namely, a few things missing. Hermione was not there, but he sort of expected that. Neither was Ron, Yugi, or Harry. He frowned, looking over to where Yami Yugi was picking at his breakfast, a scowl on his face.  
  
"Pharaoh, where IS everyone?"  
  
Yami Yugi scowl just deepened, and he shook his head, not answering. Marik gave him a disapproving look, but did not have a chance to comment as McGonagall approached the table. He left with her to join the other champions, but not before noticing the odd look on the pharaoh's face. The only other time he had seen that look was during Battle City, during the first half of the forced duel between Yugi and Jonouchi. Marik felt his skin crawl.  
  
Why did he have a feeling this was going to be far from easy...?  
  
Harry was not with the other champions when they assembled together before the judges at the lake. Nor did he arrive when the rest of the school filed into the stands that had been set up. He finally came running up to the champions a few minutes before they were supposed to begin, clutching something in his hand and breathing heavily. The young wizard stopped when he reached the group, bending over and clutching his knees.  
  
"You're late!" Percy accused from his seat, doing a good impression of Mr. Crouch, whom he was subbing for again.  
  
"Percy, cut him a break!" Marik returned angrily, going over to Harry to make sure he was okay.  
  
"It's... Ron..." Harry gasped quietly, only loud enough for Marik to hear. He gave him an alarmed look.  
  
"What about him?" he returned.  
  
"Something... precious..." the young wizard answered, slowly regaining his breath. "Took... him..."  
  
It took a moment for it to sink in, but when it did, Marik's eyes grew wide. Hermione, Ron, and Yugi... they were not at breakfast that morning. Where they the something precious that they were supposed to save? No wonder the pharaoh was giving him death glares... and Hermione...  
  
Hermione...  
  
Marik turned slightly to glare at Krum, before helping Harry stand. Damn that Bulgarian! It was his fault that she was down there!  
  
Once he was certain that Harry was not going to have a heart attack, Ludo Bagman started spacing the four of them out along the bank of the lake at intervals of ten feet. Marik almost dived in right away, anxious to get into the lake and help Yugi. He was in no mood to deal with the pharaoh's wrath if he did not make the time limit. Not only that... but maybe if he got to Hermione before Krum...  
  
The whistle to start jarred Marik out of his thoughts. Without wasting a moment, he tossed off his cloak, leaving him in his favorite lavender hoodie and gray cargo pants. With a word of Latin and pointing his wand at his head, a bubble enclosed it with half of his hair sticking out. Not waiting to see what the other champions were doing, he dived right in, the bubble around his head not popping despite the abuse...  
  
...and sank faster than a stone.  
  
Marik panicked a moment, the cold water stinging his skin, trying desperately to remember what Seto had taught him. He struggled to float in one spot, all the while cursing the fact he had grown up underground, but he only fell faster. Finally reaching bottom, he landed with a thud, kicking up sand and almost tumbling to his knees.  
  
The Egyptian looked around at the underwater environment. Everything was a green and ghastly color, and he had landed just before a forest of seaweed. He took a cautious step forward, his Ring floating up to bang against the bubble around his head, but the strap it was on was not long enough for it to fall off.  
  
Pushing the Millennium Item out of the way, he trudged his way slowly into the seaweed forest, deciding the spare himself from attempting to swim until after he had found Yugi... and Hermione. He increased his pace, trying to run in the water, only to end up going at about an average walking pace.  
  
Marik got about halfway through the weeds when he felt sharp teeth sink into his leg. He yowled in pain, spinning around and looking down to see a grindylow, a horned demon that lived underwater, had a tight hold on him. More arrived as he fought to keep his wand steady on it.  
  
"Relashio!" he shouted, his voice muffled by the bubble around his head.  
  
His wand seemed to get the idea though. Instead of sparks flying out of his wand, like what was supposed to happen, jets of hot water lashed out. The spell struck the grindylow clamped onto his leg head on, sending it spinning away from him. Snarling and shaking their fists angrily, the other demons vanished into the weed as well.  
  
Marik sighed in relief, before kicking off from the ground and swimming up until he was out of range of the weed. Okay, so maybe walking along the lake floor was not one of his better ideas.  
  
He continued swimming for what felt like hours for his inexperienced limbs. Just when he was going to descend to the floor again to take a brief respite, a haunting melody reached his ears. At first he could hardly hear it, but as he swam closer, it started coming in clearer despite the bubble around his head.  
  
"An hour long you'll have to look,  
And to recover what we took.  
Your time's half gone, so tarry not,  
Lest what you seek stays here to rot..."  
  
Marik almost panicked again, briefly wondering what the Shadow Realm was like this time of year before he continued on, following the voices. The song got louder and louder, until he finally came upon his destination.  
  
A small village of crude stone houses that looked like the algae growing on them held them together loomed before him. The creatures that dwelled in those homes... well, they were nothing like what Marik thought of when he envisioned merpeople. They had grayish skin and dark green hair so wild, it put Yugi's to shame. Their eyes and broken teeth were yellow, and the ropes of pebbles around their necks reminded him of some of the more primitive African tribes.  
  
Marik did not know where to go, but it soon became apparent as the sounds of a fight came from what he assumed was supposed to be the town square. Swimming a little closer, he was able to see Harry struggling against several merpeople, with Ron floating near the bottom close by. On a statue before them that looked like it was carved with a hacksaw, the three other hostages were tied together.  
  
He swam as fast as he could toward the statue, and as he approached, the fight between Harry and the merpeople lessened. The creatures scattered as he came up toward the young wizard...  
  
...wait. Since when did Harry have gills...?  
  
Never mind; he did NOT want to know.  
  
"Are they all right?" Marik asked, hoping Harry could hear him. Apparently at least getting the gist of what he said, Harry nodded, pointing out that it just looked like they were sleeping.  
  
"Take Yugi and get out of here," he said, his voice coming out in large garbled bubbles. "I'll wait to make sure the others make it all right."  
  
Marik nodded, before swimming up to where Yugi was still tied up. Next to him was a young girl with wispy silver hair, and he could only assume that she was a relation of Fleur's (he was honestly surprised it was not Seto down there instead). On the other side of the statue was Hermione, her bushy hair floating about her face as her head lulled to the side in unconsciousness. He hesitated a moment, wondering if he should try to save her too…  
  
"Marik!"  
  
Harry's shout made him make up his mind fast. Let Krum save her; he would wait for another opportunity to win Hermione's heart back (though if he did not save her, he reserved the right to beat that damn Bulgarian to a bloody pulp). Besides, he reasoned with himself, what good would having his girlfriend back do him if he were taking up residence in the Shadow Realm?  
  
Grabbing the Millennium Ring still floating about on his neck, Marik took hold of one of the points and speared the ropes holding Yugi. He attacked them again and again, until the ropes finally loosened enough for him to pull the duelist loose. Giving Harry a thumbs up for luck, he started swimming back up to the surface.  
  
Swimming up proved to be a lot harder than swimming (or falling, as the case may be) down, especially with Yugi tossed over his shoulder like a heavy potato sack. The water was brightening ever so slowly as he made his way up to the surface, and after what seemed like an eternity, his bubbled head broke free of the water. He sighed in relief, sliding Yugi in front of him until he was holding the smaller boy around the waist, while using his wand to dispel the bubble around his head.  
  
"And Marik Ishitar is the first to return with his hostage!"  
  
Ludo Bagman's voice echoing in the cold February air made him snap his head up, only to be blinded by the bright sunlight above. Marik tightened his hold on Yugi, only to hear a grunt of protest. Looking down in surprise, he saw that Yugi had woken up.  
  
"I don't think I've ever been this wet before," Yugi said around a yawn, brushing his sagging hair out of his face.  
  
"Are you all right, Yugi-kun?" Marik asked. "Did they hurt you at all?"  
  
Yugi gave him a confused look. "No... why would they?"  
  
Marik blinked. "Waitta minute... don't tell me you VOLUNTEERED for this?!"  
  
"Well, sure!"  
  
Marik sweatdropped; great, and Harry was down there, making sure all of the hostages were going to make it out alive. He was going to be SO humiliated when he got back up.  
  
He swam unsteadily toward the shore, with Yugi helping as little as he could. They got there just as Yami Yugi made it to the embankment from his seat on the stands, looking like stress had aged him several years. The pharaoh plucked his hikari out of the water as soon as they got close enough, holding onto him tightly, too preoccupied with placing relieved kisses on Yugi's cheeks and mouth to give Marik a hand up. Grumbling about the pharaoh's priorities, he crawled up onto the shore himself, before Madam Pomfrey arrived to help him stand, wrapping him tightly in a warm blanket as she did so. He was led off to sit down and warm up as the school nurse attempted to beat Yami Yugi off long enough so she could tend to Yugi.  
  
Once Madam Pomfrey got Yugi settled down next to Marik (with the pharaoh practically glued to his hip), there was a loud splash from the lake. Fleur emerged, being carried up by two merpeople, and fighting desperately to go back down into the water despite the fact that her face was covered in cuts and her robes were torn.  
  
Something breezed past Marik, almost knocking him off of his seat. He blinked in surprise as he saw Seto running up to where Fleur was being helped out of the water by Madame Maxime. The French girl latched onto him as soon as she saw him, crying fitfully.  
  
"Gabrielle... my zister... ze grindylows..."  
  
Seto held onto her tightly, whispering calming words while giving Marik a desperate look. The Egyptian gave him a thumbs up in return, assuring him everything was okay.  
  
"Who ever came up with this task has got to be a total prat."  
  
Marik and Yugi turned slightly to see Bakura, Yami Bakura, and Ginny walking toward them, with the youngest Weasley practically having her arms plastered around the tomb robber's waist. He did not seem to mind, strangely enough; in fact, he had a hand on her shoulder, and occasionally gave it a reassuring squeeze.  
  
"For once, I agree with you, tomb robber," Yami Yugi replied. "Ugh... hold still, koi. You've got a water beetle in your hair."  
  
Yugi stilled long enough for the pharaoh to flick the beetle out of his hair. Unfortunately, instead of landing in the grass that he was aiming for, it ended up impacting against Marik's ear with a wet SMACK!  
  
"Ew! Pharaoh!" Marik exclaimed, batting the bug off of his ear and into the grass somewhere. "Thanks a lot."  
  
Yami Yugi apologized just as there came another splash from the water. Hermione and a half transfigured Krum emerged from the water. She slowly awoke, a bit started by the half human, half shark that was holding onto her. Once she realized who it was, she relaxed, clutching to him in a manner that made Marik growl angrily. Everyone gave him an alarmed look, but he managed to keep himself in check as the two of them were wrapped in blankets and sat on the bench as well.  
  
Now all that was left was to wait for Harry to come up. Marik bit his lip nervously; he was probably waiting for Fleur - who was still attached to Seto and mumbling incoherently - to show up. Either that, or the merpeople decided he was too much of a nuisance...  
  
Just as he finished that thought, Harry's head broke the surface of the water, pulling up Ron and Fleur's sister along with him. He gasped for air desperately as his two rescued hostages slowly regained consciousness. Marik breathed a sigh of relief, leaning against Yugi and massaging his temples.  
  
Two tasks down, one more to go.  
  
Once everyone was settled on the bench - which was a bit cramped because Yami Yugi refused to let go of Yugi, and Fleur still had an iron lock on Seto and now also her sister - Bagman announced the scores. With his voice magically amplified, he explained that the scores were out of a full mark of fifty, before starting on their individual marks.  
  
"Fleur Delacour, though she demonstrated excellent use of the Bubblehead Charm, was attacked by grindylows as she approached her goal, and failed to retrieve her hostage. We award her twenty-five points."  
  
There was polite applause from the stands as Fleur sniffed, holding her sister closer to her.  
  
"I deserved zero," she muttered. Seto gave her shoulder an encouraging squeeze.  
  
"Marik Ishitar," Bagman continued, "who also used the Bubblehead Charm, was first to return with his hostage, though he returned one minute outside the time limit of an hour. We therefore award him forty-seven points."  
  
Marik beamed as enormous cheers erupted from the Gryffindors in the stands. Depending on how Krum and Harry were scored, that put him in first place!  
  
"Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him forty points."  
  
Marik almost outright sneered as the Durmstrang students and Karkaroff applauded. He still had Krum beat. That was just such sweet justice.  
  
"Harry Potter used gillyweed to great effect," Bagman said. "He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, Merchieftainess Murcus informs us that Mr. Potter was first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own."  
  
Harry looked like he wanted to hide under the bench as Hermione and Ron shot him exasperated looks.  
  
"Most of the judges -" Bagman gave Karkaroff a rather nasty glare at that - "feel that this shows moral fiber and merits full marks. However... Mr. Potter's score is forty-five points."  
  
Marik and Harry's mouths fell open in utter surprise. They were TIED?!  
  
The two of them exchanged worried looks laced with concern. This complicated things quite a bit… 


	20. Padfoot Returns

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
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No Q&A right now. I'm tired, and I want to RP. I'll just say this much... I am SO mean to my favorite bishies. ^^;  
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CHAPTER TWENTY - PADFOOT RETURNS  
  
Yami Bakura yawned lazily as he made his way down the corridors to the Great Hall that morning. He had slept in, despite the poking and prodding that his hikari put him through. What did he care if he was late for a class? He was not the one that got the homework, after all. Besides, he had more important things to worry about, like his little prank war for instance. The pharaoh had yet to get back at him for the ice incident, and he was starting to get concerned. Oh, no, he was not AFRAID of what the pharaoh was plotting. There was not a single thing the pharaoh could do to him that he could not return to him ten fold. He was worried that Yami Yugi had given up on their little game.  
  
Well, Yami Bakura thought as he started down a flight of stairs, he was just going to have to make sure that-  
  
Before he could even finish that thought, he felt his foot land on something metallic, slippery, yet sticky at the same time. In the next second, he was careening down the stairs at an alarming rate, his feet practically glued to a metal pan, the rectangular kind used in baking. Reaching the bottom, he bounced against the wall, which in turn spun him around like a top, before sending him surfing down another flight of steps. When he reached the end of that flight, however, he somehow got over balanced, and ended up smacking against the ground with a painful THUD!  
  
It took the tomb robber a moment to regain himself and chase away the stars that were doing happy dances before his eyes. When they finally stopped and went away, he saw that a gargoyle statue was holding a small letter addressed to him. Grumbling, he un-stuck his feet from the pan and stood up - painfully - before snatching the letter out of the gargoyle's stone hand.  
  
Bakura ~  
Tag, you're it.  
~ Panseru  
  
Yami Bakura growled angrily, smashing the letter in his fist. That Ra-be-damned pharaoh was SO going to die AGAIN!  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Be at stile at end of road out of Hogsmeade (past  
Dervish and Banges) at two o' clock on Saturday  
afternoon. Bring as much food as you can.  
  
Yugi, Yami Yugi, Marik, Draco, Ron, and Harry practically had their heads pressed together as they read Sirius' latest note on their way to Potions. Harry had to read it over twice to make sure he was not seeing things. Was his godfather really back in Hogsmeade?  
  
"He's crazy," Marik murmured. "If he gets caught..."  
  
"He's made it this far though," Yami Yugi reasoned. "Besides, it's not like the dementors are around anymore."  
  
"Thank God for that," Draco agreed.  
  
Harry folded the note up carefully before stuffing it back in his robes. He admitted, he wanted to see Sirius again, especially after everything that had been going on. The thing was, what if he WAS caught again? He would be sent back to Azkaban, and Harry did not know if he would be able to escape a second time.  
  
When they reached the dungeon classroom that Potions was held in, they saw Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle, along with Pansy Parkinson's gang of Slytherin girls. They were all in a huddle, sniggering about something that Harry and his friends could not see. Ecillia turned as they approached, however, a wicked smile on her face.  
  
"Ah, so THERE you are," she sneered as the girls broke apart, giving Harry the chance to see that Pansy was holding a magazine in her hand.  
  
"You might find something in here that interests you, Mutou," Pansy said loudly, tossing the magazine at Yugi. He caught it, startled. Flipping it over, he was able to see the title "Witch Weekly" with a moving picture of a witch pointing to a large sponge cake with her wand and smiling brightly.  
  
The six boys exchanged concerned looks, before backing away from the Slytherin girls, who were outright laughing now. Yugi started flipping through the magazine as soon as they were far away enough. After a long moment, he found what they were looking for near the center of the magazine. The boys pressed their heads together again, looking at a color photograph of Harry that headed a short piece entitled:  
  
Harry Potter's Secret Heartache  
A boy like no other, perhaps - yet a boy suffering all  
the usual pangs of adolescence, writes Rita Skeeter.  
Deprived of love since the tragic demise of his  
parents, fourteen-year-old Harry Potter thought he  
had found solace in an unlikely steady BOYfriend at  
Hogwarts, Muggle-born Japanese transfer student  
Yugi Mutou. Little did he know that he would  
shortly be suffering yet another emotional blow in a  
life already littered with personal loss.  
Mr. Mutou, an exotic and ambitious boy, seems  
to have a taste for the undead that Harry obviously  
cannot satisfy. Since his arrival at Hogwarts, Mr.  
Mutou has been toying with the emotions of Harry as  
well as well as "Yami Yugi", a spirit of an Ancient  
Egyptian peasant that follows the small of stature boy  
around. Yami Yugi, who is openly smitten with the  
devious Mr. Mutou, has already invited him to tour  
about his home country of Egypt, and insists that he  
has "never felt this way about anyone."  
However, it might not be Mr. Mutou's doubtful  
natural charms that have captured these unfortunate  
boys' interest.  
"He's really ugly," says Pansy Parkinson, a  
pretty and vivacious fourth-year student, "but he'd be  
well up to making a Love Potion, he's a bit brainy. I  
think that's how he's doing it."  
Love Potions are, of course, banned at Hogwarts,  
and no doubt Albus Dumbledore will want to  
investigate these claims. In the meantime, Harry  
Potter's well-wishers must hope that, next time, he  
bestows his heart on a worthier candidate.  
  
Harry felt his whole face turn hot in humiliation as Yami Yugi started ranting and raving ("Peasant?! How dare she...!"). He had never felt that embarrassed before in his life; he did not even have a GIRL that he was interested in - though it was a bit of a toss up between Lavender and Cho - not to mention a BOY. Goodness, he never even THOUGHT of Yugi that way!  
  
"Oh, man, Yugi-kun," Marik exclaimed, slapping the palm of his hand to his forehead. "I tried to tell you that she would do something like this... Yugi-kun?"  
  
Yugi had not moved an inch since he had finished reading the article, not counting his hands holding the magazine up. His fingers were clenched tightly around the edges of the magazine, and his fists were shaking.  
  
"Yugi?" Ron asked, gulping slightly in nervousness. "Are you okay?"  
  
Suddenly, Yugi's hands snapped away from each other, tearing the magazine in half. The other boys took a MASSIVE step back, unnerved by the sudden act of violence. Without saying a word, Yugi snatched the article, dropped the rest of the magazine and his bag, and then spun around on his heel and stalked off.  
  
"A-aibou!" Yami Yugi called, surprised. "Where are you going? You've got class!"  
  
"To find Yami Bakura-kun!" Yugi shouted over his shoulder, before disappearing around a bend in the hall. The five boys left exchanged dumbfounded looks, too stunned to speak.  
  
"Man... Yugi's PISSED," Ron finally said.  
  
"He's scary when he's mad," Draco added.  
  
Yami Yugi could only nod in agreement as Snape opened the door to the classroom and ushered the students inside. The pharaoh picked up his hikari's bag and followed the others in. He could probably handle Yugi's classes while he was gone; he just hoped his little koibito was not doing anything that could get him expelled.  
  
"Though... how'd she know...?" the pharaoh muttered to himself as he sat down next to Marik.  
  
"Know what?" Marik asked. "Don't tell me he really is mixing Love Potions?"  
  
Yami Yugi sweatdropped. "Of course not," he replied, before turning slightly pink. "I mean, how did she know I asked Yugi if he wanted to go to Egypt this summer instead of participating in Battle City?"  
  
Marik gave him a sly, almost cat-like look. "Aw, pharaoh. How adorable. Showing him the sights, hunh?"  
  
Yami Yugi hung his head, turning bright red. "Marik..." he began warningly.  
  
Marik did not take heed, however. "Just, whatever you do, don't ask him if he wants to visit your place."  
  
The pharaoh crossed his arms on the desk, burying his head in them to hide his humiliation as Marik chuckled.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
They all left for Hogsmeade the next day. The weather that March had finally cleared up, and it was warmer than it had been in a long time. Yami Yugi, Yami Bakura, Yami Seto, and Marik had already taken off their robes, claiming to be boiling hot, and the others were not far behind in doing the same. Yugi, Yami Yugi, Harry, and Draco were sharing the same carriage on their way to the wizard's village, with Yugi practically hanging his head out the window in his excitement for going in such nice weather.  
  
"So, who is going with you to see Sirius?" the pharaoh asked. "It would be safer if a small group went to see him than all of us."  
  
"That's what I was thinking," Harry admitted.  
  
"I'll go," Draco volunteered.  
  
Yami Yugi took a sidelong glance at Yugi. "I was going to try and prevent him from strangling Skeeter, so..."  
  
Yugi turned around long enough to pout at the pharaoh.  
  
Once they arrived at the village and disembarked, they separated into three groups. Yugi and Yami Yugi went off on their own, with the lighter half complaining that he was not going to try to do anything to Rita Skeeter. Seto, Yami Seto, Bakura, Marik, and Ron went off to their usual haunts, and to also buy Dobby the house elf a gift, as it had been him that was responsible for getting Harry his gillyweed for the second task. That left Harry, Yami Bakura, and Draco to go off to meet up with Sirius.  
  
The three of them went up the road past Dervish and Banges, following the path as if they were to leave Hogsmeade. It was not until they were near the foot of the mountain in whose shadow the village lay, that they encountered a shaggy black dog with a collection of newspapers in its mouth...  
  
"Hello, Sirius," Harry said, holding out his bag. They had managed to grab a dozen chicken legs, a loaf of bread, and a flask of pumpkin juice from the lunch table. The Sirius-dog sniffed at it, wagging his tail excitedly, before turning around and trotting away toward the foot of the mountain.  
  
They followed the dog up a small path, sweating slightly in the warmth of the sun. After at least a half hour of climbing and walking, they reached a narrow fissure in the rock. Sirius slipped in first, followed by Draco, Yami Bakura, and lastly Harry. They ended up in a cool, dimly lit cave, where Buckbeak the hippogriff was tethered near the end. Yami Bakura went over and bowed to the hippogriff right away. Buckbeak bowed back right away, and soon the tomb robber was petting and scratching the animal under the chin, saying hello to him.  
  
Meanwhile, Sirius had already transformed back into a human, and had practically pounced on Harry. He handed over the food right away; if he had not known the man, he would have been afraid of loosing a hand or something. Sirius attacked the chicken drumsticks almost right away, tearing off a large chunk with his teeth.  
  
"Thanks," he said after swallowing. "I've been living mostly off of rats."  
  
Draco made a face.  
  
"What are you doing here, Sirius?" Harry asked, sitting down on a rock.  
  
Sirius shrugged. "Being a good godfather," he replied. "Don't worry; everyone that's seen me just thinks I'm a loveable stray."  
  
Meanwhile, the newspapers that Sirius had brought with him had caught Yami Bakura's eye. The first one had the headline of "Mystery Illness of Bartemius Crouch" and the other was "Ministry Witch Still Missing - Minister of Magic Now Personally Involved". The tomb robber read over the one about Crouch, frowning as he finished.  
  
"They're making it sound like he's dying," he said, passing the newspaper on to Harry.  
  
Harry also frowned as he read it. "He can't be that ill if he managed to get up here," he said. "I had seen Crouch on the Marauder's Map the night I found out Moody was keeping an eye on Snape."  
  
Sirius snorted. "Crouch is a piece of work all right, but if he ever takes a day off because of illness, I'll eat Buckbeak."  
  
"You know Crouch?" Draco asked, surprised.  
  
Sirius' expression suddenly darkened. "Oh, I know Crouch," he said quietly. "He was the one who gave the order for me to be sent to Azkaban... without a trial."  
  
"WHAT?!" Draco and Yami Bakura exclaimed.  
  
"Why?" Harry asked.  
  
Sirius shook his head. "You wouldn't understand. You're too young."  
  
Yami Bakura raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"  
  
"That's what Ron's dad said at the World Cup," Harry said, rolling his eyes. "Why don't you try us?"  
  
A grin flashed across Sirius' face. "Okay, I'll try you," he said, tossing Buckbeak his finished chicken bone. "Imagine that Voldemort's powerful now. You don't know who his supporters are, you don't know who's working for him and who isn't; you know he can control people so that they do terrible things without being able to stop themselves. You're scared for yourself, and your family, and your friends. Every week, news comes of more deaths, more disappearances, more torturing. The Ministry of Magic's in disarray, they don't know what to do, they're trying to keep everything hidden from the muggles, by meanwhile, muggles are dying too. Terror everywhere, panic, confusion... that's how it used to be."  
  
"Sounds like Egypt back in my time," Yami Bakura commented solemnly. Harry and Draco gave him concerned looks, but the tomb robber waved it off.  
  
"Anyway... times like that bring out the best in some people and the worst in others," Sirius continued. "Crouch's principles might've been good in the beginning - I wouldn't know. He rose quickly through the Ministry, and he started ordering very harsh measures against Voldemort's followers. He was probably as ruthless as they were against captured suspects. When Voldemort disappeared, it looked like only a matter of time until Crouch got the top job. But then, something rather unfortunate happened... Crouch's own son was caught with a group of Death Eaters that were trying to find Voldemort and return him to power."  
  
"I remember hearing about that," Draco said. "My father mentioned it once. Crouch didn't even try to get his son off. He didn't want him to tarnish his reputation, but it didn't do him much good."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Yami Bakura objected. "He let him go to Azkaban, because of his EGO?! Was his son even a Death Eater?"  
  
Sirius shrugged. "I don't know, and no one ever will either," he answered. "He died not all that long before I escaped. The dementors buried him in a mass grave outside the fortress. His mother died too, not long after he did. Died of grief; wasted away just like her son. And that was that, Crouch lost it all, just when he had it made. The Ministry tossed him down to the Department of International Magical Cooperation and promptly forgot about him."  
  
There was a long, deafening silence, as the three boys mulled over what Sirius had told them. Yami Bakura was the first to speak.  
  
"What about Snape?" he asked. "Was he ever a Death Eater?"  
  
"Probably not, considering how much Dumbledore trusts him," Sirius answered, a bitter frown on his face. "I wouldn't have put it past him though. Slimy, oily, greasy-haired kid, he was -"  
  
"This is different from now, how?" Harry interrupted, only to be elbowed by Draco.  
  
Sirius just grinned. "Snape knew more curses when he arrived at school than half the kids in seventh year, and he was part of a gang of Slytherins who nearly all turned out to be Death Eaters," he added, before holding up his fingers and ticking off names. "Rosier and Wilkes, they were killed by Aurors. The Lestranges, they're both in Azkaban. Avery, he claimed he was acting under the Imperius Curse, so he's still around."  
  
"Snape seems to know Karkaroff too," Draco added, "but he isn't too thrilled about it."  
  
"You should've seen Snape's face when he showed up in Potions yesterday," Harry added. "Snape apparently had been avoiding him. Karkaroff looked really worried, and he showed Snape something on his arm."  
  
"On his arm?" Sirius asked, frowning. "I wouldn't know anything about that." He sighed, tiredly. "What time is it, anyway?"  
  
"Half past three," Draco answered.  
  
"Then you'd better get back to school," he said, getting to his feet. "Now, I don't want ANY of you sneaking out to see me, all right? Just send me letters. It would be too dangerous, and give someone ample opportunity to attack you."  
  
Harry smirked. "But, no one's tried to attack me so far, except for a dragon and a couple of grindylows."  
  
Draco and Yami Bakura sniggered as Sirius gave him a critical look.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
During supper that night, Harry and Draco updated everyone on what "Snuffles" - their codename for Sirius - had told them. At least, they were trying to do so. Yami Yugi was a little distracted by a new addition to the menu.  
  
"Roast goose!" he exclaimed, grabbing the plate the meat was on, and practically shoveling half of it onto his plate. Yugi sweatdropped as he watched his other half, embarrassed.  
  
"I... take it, that's your favorite..." Marik said, watching him with a raised eyebrow.  
  
The pharaoh nodded. "I used to eat stuff like this all the time in Khemet. Here, Marik-kun. Try some."  
  
He dropped some of the roast goose on Marik's plate. The Gravekeeper stared down at it, a slightly sick look on his face, before looking up at the pharaoh like he grew another head.   
  
"What do you want me to do with it?" he asked, though he had a feeling he knew the answer.   
  
"Eat it, of course," Yami Yugi replied, stuffing some of the meat in his mouth. "At least try it; it's good."  
  
Marik turned slightly green. "I don't eat meat."   
  
A slight hush fell over their section of the table, with Harry, Draco, and Yami Yugi staring at the Egyptian. Yami Yugi's mouth was hanging open slightly, some chewed meat falling out. Yugi sweatdropped, before reaching up and closing his dark half's mouth.   
  
"You're a veggie?" Draco asked finally, only to get elbowed by Harry. He glared at him, before continuing, "I wouldn't have expected that from you."  
  
Yami Yugi swallowed, before smirking slightly. He leaned over slightly toward Marik, before asking in Japanese, "This coming from someone who wanted to be pharaoh?"  
  
Marik just glared. "You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" he returned, also in Japanese.   
  
Yami Yugi just flashed an uncharacteristic grin. "Of course!" he replied. "That's what you get for making fun of your pharaoh in the middle of Potions."  
  
Marik sweatdropped, shaking his head. Suddenly, just as Yami Yugi was about to take another bite, his whole face turned red and it looked like steam was going to start pouring out of his ears. The pharaoh practically pounced on the nearest flagon of pumpkin juice, downing it in one gulp.  
  
"Mou hitori no boku!" Yugi exclaimed, alarmed. "What happened?"  
  
"Someone roasted it in hot sauce!" the pharaoh answered, his voice unnaturally high. He was about to continue, when he suddenly got the feeling that someone was watching him. Turning around, he saw Yami Bakura staring DIRECTLY at him. The tomb robber smirked and gave him a thumbs up, before going back to his own meal.  
  
The pharaoh growled again, before having to reach for another flagon of pumpkin juice. He was SO going to kill that tomb robber AGAIN! 


	21. Truces and Letters

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
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This chapter took so long not because I was busy, but because it was SO LONG and it still ended up as a cliffhanger. -_-; Hopefully no one will kill me for this...  
  
And, now, a very short Q&A:  
  
insane2seto: Wow, that was 6kb worth of pure nonsense. _ If you're going to review my story, actually review it, and not some crazy story. -.-;;  
  
MillenniumDreamer: -_-;; Just don't point that flamethrower at me.  
  
Rowan Girl: Don't feel bad. The only person who knows what happened to Draco in the last story, other than myself of course, is not talking. ::fingers Baseball Bat of Divine Justice:: And Yami Seto isn't freaky! He's luvable! :3  
  
Yami Yami Yugi: No, he doesn't loose it in my story. And... young lady? I'm twenty, I'm an old fart compaired to most of the people on this website. ;)  
  
Mimiheart: No, playing step on the beetle is Yugi's job. ;)  
  
All right... now, so I can stop recieving the same question again and again. I am a very busy person. I have a job, a webpage, a cat, and a life to maintain. If the fact that sometimes there are three week interludes between updates didn't give you a clue, I AM A VERY BUSY PERSON! Please, please don't ask me to read your story. I'm sure it's very good, but I can barely keep up with the stories I have in my favorites, not to mention read the stories of someone whom I barely know.  
  
Also, a few notes. "Yoriisku" -- which is probably spelled wrong -- means "pleased to meet you". Also, the majority of Crouch's lines near the end of this long chapter were excerpted from the book.  
  
As always, read, enjoy, and review.  
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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE - TRUCES AND LETTERS  
  
Yami Yugi dusted his hand off, a satisfied smirk on his face, as he finished off what was to be the prank to end all pranks. If he had calculated right, Yami Bakura would be coming down the stairs from the Hufflepuff common room at any moment for breakfast. Since the tomb robber had an annoying habit of sliding down banisters, he had set up a trip wire at the bottom of the stairs. With any luck, he would trip over the wire and when he landed - if he had gotten it right - a trick charmed rope he had bought from the Weasley twins would tie itself around his legs before hauling him up into the air.  
  
The pharaoh smirked to himself. It would be fun to try and see how long the tomb robber would be dangling there before someone finally had the heart to let him down.  
  
Footfalls from above shook Yami Yugi out of his thoughts. He jumped over the banister to another set of stairs below, staying on that long enough to get a peek of wildly spiked white hair before heading down the staircase.  
  
He did not know what happened next. One minute, he was quietly making his way down the stairs, sniggering softly to himself. Next thing he knew, he was landing on the ground with a painful thud… and then the ground was suddenly several feet below his head as something pulled him up into the air by his feet. Yami Yugi frowned as he dangled in the air, pushing the Millennium Puzzle out of his face; now how the heck did he know...?  
  
There was a yelp from above him, followed by a thud, followed by a yowl of surprise as Yami Bakura landed in his trap. The two of them glared at each other from where they were hanging in the air for a good long moment, before one of them spoke.  
  
"Now how the heck did you know I would be coming this way?" Yami Yugi demanded.  
  
"I didn't," Yami Bakura snapped back. "I was coming down to try and lure you over here. No wonder George said it seemed like these trick ropes were getting really popular."  
  
They continued to glare at each other for a good moment, before the tomb robber's face broke out into a grin.  
  
"I think we should call a truce," he said.  
  
Yami Yugi chuckled, shaking his head. "I think so too," he agreed. "Now, how do we get down?"  
  
"I've got it covered," the tomb robber said, starting to swing back and forth. After a moment, he gained enough momentum to swing up and grab his feet. His deft fingers quickly untied the rope; unfortunately, once the rope was untied, it lost its ability to hover in the air. Yami Bakura landed on the ground with a painful THUD, groaning as the wind was knocked out of him.  
  
Yami Yugi bit back a laugh. "Shit, Bakura. Are you all right?"  
  
The tomb robber leaned his head back far enough to look up at him. "You try it, see how it feels."  
  
"How the heck else am I supposed to be getting down from here?" the pharaoh replied, starting to swing back and forth like Yami Bakura had done.  
  
He had just managed to get a hold of his feet, when a shout and scrambling of feet distracted him. Craning his neck around, he saw the other spirit climbing to his feet before rushing down the stairs. The tomb robber positioned himself under him, in a stance where he could catch him and not end up on the ground again. Yami Yugi just looked at him like he had grown another head.  
  
"What do you think you're doing?" he asked.  
  
Yami Bakura just smirked. "Don't worry, Panseru. I'll catch you."  
  
Yami Yugi raised an eyebrow at the use of his real name. The tomb robber had only used it once in all the time he had known him. Any other time he called him "pharaoh", or "your highness-ness"; all in the most absolute sarcastic tone anyone could pull off. It was a bit... odd, to say the least.  
  
"Well, what are you waiting for?"  
  
Deciding that a sore rear end was not much to stress over if he did not catch him, Yami Yugi started to untie the rope. As soon as the knot was undone, he dropped from the air, only to land in Yami Bakura's outstretched arms, drawing a grunt from said spirit. The tomb robber took a moment to steady his footing - least they both end up on the ground - before dropping the arm that held up the pharaoh's legs, setting him back on the ground again.  
  
"Ano... arigatou," Yami Yugi replied, feeling extremely awkward.  
  
There was a long stretch of uncomfortable silence, with the two of them regarding each other carefully. Finally, the pharaoh nodded to himself, making up his mind. He held out a hand to the tomb robber.  
  
"Boku wa Panseru," he introduced.  
  
Yami Bakura looked at his hand, concern and uncertainty mixing together on his face. After a moment, however, he smirked, reaching out to grip the pharaoh's hand in a handshake.  
  
"Oré wa Bakura," he returned. "Yoriisku."  
  
The two of them grinned at each other, chuckling slightly, before heading off to breakfast in the Great Hall (which they were already late for), chatting idly.  
  
"Yeah, so I thought of this prank to pull on Ecillia."  
  
"Oh...?"  
  
"Hai, but I need some of those Canary Creams from the twins..."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yugi was munching on a piece of bacon when Ron walked into the Great Hall, looking highly disturbed. He numbly went over to his seat at the Gryffindor table, looking from Yugi, to Draco, to Marik, to Harry, and back to Yugi. When asked what was wrong with him, he shook his head, trying to clear it.  
  
"I saw something really weird down the hallway," he announced.  
  
"What?" Yugi asked.  
  
"Yami Yugi and Yami Bakura... being FRIENDLY."  
  
Harry and Yugi exchanged alarmed looks.  
  
"Hell hath frozen over," the Gravekeeper jibed.  
  
"That's really creepy..." Draco said, nibbling on the corner of his toast.  
  
Just then, the post owls arrived, cutting off any further comments on the subject. Yugi looked up anxiously, as if he were expecting something.  
  
"What's up, Yugi?" Draco asked. "Expecting a letter from Sugoroku?"  
  
"No, not that," Yugi replied. "I got a subscription to the 'Daily Prophet'. I'm getting sick of hearing the news from Ecillia and her thugs."  
  
"Looks like you're in luck," Harry said, as a small gray owl soared toward Yugi. It was not holding a newspaper, however, but a small envelope.  
  
"No, I don't think -"  
  
Yugi cut himself off as, to his bewilderment, the gray owl landed in front of him... followed by four barn owls, a brown owl, and a tawny. Each of the birds had envelopes addressed to him, and they were hopping about, anxious to be the first to deliver their letter. Dumbstruck, Yugi took the one from the gray owl first, opening it up... and frowning deeply.  
  
"Oh, Kami-sama! This is ridiculous!" he exclaimed, passing off the note to Harry. It was not even handwritten; instead, it seemed to have been pasted together from letters from the "Daily Prophet".  
  
You are a WickEd boY. HarRy PotTER desErVes  
BeTter. Go back wherE you cAMe from muGgle.  
  
"They're all like this!" Yugi exclaimed, distressed, looking through each of the letters. "'Harry Potter can do much better than the likes of you...' 'You deserve to be boiled in frog spawn...' AH!!!"  
  
Yugi shouted in surprise as he opened the last letter. A yellowish-green liquid smelling like petrol gushed all over his hands. Large, ugly yellow boils erupted in response.  
  
"Undiluted bubotuber pus!" Ron exclaimed as Marik jumped out of his seat, trying vainly to help Yugi wipe the disgusting substance off his hands. Yugi was near tears from the effort, his hands now so thickly covered in sores, it looked like he was wearing a rough pair of gloves.  
  
The Gravekeeper helped him stand up, before leading him out of the Great Hall, trying to keep his hands covered. They encountered Yami Bakura and Yami Yugi just as they were to leave the hall. Words were exchanged, before the pharaoh put an arm around his hikari to lead him out, and Marik and the other spirit came back to the Gryffindor table.  
  
"The pharaoh's pissed," Marik announced, sitting back down.  
  
"What the hell happened?" Yami Bakura demanded, picking up one of the letters.  
  
"Fan mail," Draco replied dully.  
  
Yami Bakura frowned, before reading aloud, "'I read in 'Witch Weekly' about how you are playing Harry Potter false and that boy has had enough hardship and I will be sending you a curse by next post as soon as I find a big enough envelope.' Damn. Who'd he piss off?"  
  
"Rita Skeeter," the Gryffindor boys replied.  
  
Marik shook his head. "I tried to warn him this would happen. Though... now I don't know who I feel sorry for."  
  
"What do you mean, Marik?" Harry asked.  
  
Marik smiled ruefully. "I mean, I don't know if I feel sorry for Yugi for having to put up with this... or if I'll feel sorry for Rita when Yugi gets his hands on her."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yami Bakura glanced over his shoulder at his hikari, who was sleeping soundly next to him on the bed they shared. He had a gentle, peaceful look on his face, as if nothing in the world could bother him at that moment. The tomb robber just wished he could feel the same way. Something was tugging at the back of his mind however, something that he should have taken care of already.  
  
What was behind the Door...?  
  
Frowning to himself, he slipped silently back into his Soul Room, shuddering out of reflex as the unfelt breezes of Kuru Eruna at night blew soundlessly. He approached the Door in question, the sand tickling his bare feet slightly. A long moment passed where he just stood there, staring at the door that had led him to be consumed by so much hate and so much despair, both in his past life and in this one.  
  
He had made friends with the pharaoh. The people of his village would be ashamed of him…  
  
Or would they? How could he even know? All that misguided hate... and he ended up being manipulated by the two people whom he and his spirit beast should have been fighting against in the first place.  
  
Not the pharaoh.  
  
The pharaoh was never an enemy, but an ally.  
  
Gritting his teeth, Yami Bakura's hand shot out, grabbing a hold of the handle to the other Door in his Soul Room, the one that led to a Soul Room that only his consciousness was connected to. Before he could loose his nerve, he threw the Door open...  
  
There was no Room, nothing... not even "nothing". On the other side of the Door, he could only see the sand dunes beyond, what he would have seen if he walked around the Door. Before he could even figure out how this could be, the handle to the Door disappeared from his hands. He turned to look in surprise, just as the doorframe vanished as well, leaving only the Door itself behind. Feeling emboldened, he pushed at the Door, making it fall over... only to watch it as it vanished before it even hit the sand.  
  
Yami Bakura stood there, staring at the door for a long, thoughtful minute. Suddenly, he did something he had not done in a long time.  
  
He smiled.  
  
It was not an evil smile. It was not an "I'm better than you and you know it" smile. It was a soft, gentle smile. It was something he had not done for thousands of lifetimes... and it felt good to be able to do it again.  
  
"Sayonara, Akunadin," he whispered. "Sayonara, Zork Necrophadisu."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The start of the summer term usually meant that Harry and Marik would be working extra hard during Quidditch practices. Instead of their favorite sport, however, they were preoccupied with the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. The only problem? They still had no idea as to what the task was going to entail. Even asking Fleur got them no where, as she did not know either, and neither of them were about to ask Krum, ESPECIALLY Marik.  
  
Then, at the end of May, Professor McGonagall held the two boys after class to tell them that they had to go to the Quidditch field at nine to learn about the final task. The two of them ended up actually leaving the castle at half past eight, anxious to finally see what exactly they would be doing.  
  
"What d'ya think we'll have to do?" Marik asked as they walked along the dark lawn. "Fleur was saying at dinner that she thinks it might have to do with some kind of treasure."  
  
"That'll be easy," Harry commented. "I'll just ask Hagrid for one of those nifflers."  
  
Marik smirked. "Either way, I'll just use the Ring," he said, patting the Item against his chest. "Talk about a universal tracking device. Check this out."  
  
The two of them paused just as they were about to enter the stadium. Marik held up the Ring so that the points were dangling toward the ground.  
  
"Harry," he said.  
  
Two of the points responded immediately, glowing as they came up and pointed to Harry, who was standing on his right.  
  
"Quidditch field."  
  
The two points that had been pointing to Harry dulled and dropped, just as the center point glowed to life and pointed at the Quidditch field before them.  
  
"Forbidden forest."  
  
As before, the center point dulled and fell, and the left two points came to life to point at the forbidden forest. Marik grinned as he set the Item back against his chest, the two points also coming to a rest. Harry nodded his head, impressed.  
  
"It seems like you've really gotten the hang of that thing," he complimented.  
  
"Well, I still have some things to work out," the Gravekeeper admitted. "I still can't think of something, and expect the points to respond. I'll have to ask the tomb robber how he managed it. Anyway..."  
  
The two of them entered the Quidditch field... only to find that the field was no longer smooth and flat like they remembered it. It looked as if someone had built a series of crisscrossing miniature walls all over the place. Further inspection proved that the "walls" were really hedges still in the process of being grown. Marik looked scandalized; how dare someone mess with their precious field!  
  
"Ah, gentlemen!" Ludo Bagman called from where he was standing in the center with Fleur and Krum. The two of them went to join them slowly, careful not to step on any of the hedges.  
  
"So, what do you think?" he asked as the two of them cleared the last hedge. "Growing nicely, eh? Give them a month, and Hagrid will have them twenty feet tall. Now, don't panic," he added, seeing the stricken looks on Harry and Marik's faces, "you'll have your Quidditch field back to normal as soon as the task is over. Now, can either of you guess what'll be happening here?"  
  
There was silence, before...  
  
"Maze," Krum grunted.  
  
"Exactly!" Bagman exclaimed. "The final task is really quite straightforward. The Triwizard Cup will be placed here, in the center. The champion who navigates the maze and captures the Cup will receive full marks for the event."  
  
"We seemply 'ave to get through ze maze?" Fleur asked.  
  
"Well, there will be obstacles of course," Bagman answered happily. "Hagrid's provided us with a few creatures, and there will be spells that need to be broken... stuff like that. Should be fun after all the other tasks, eh?"  
  
Marik and Harry exchanged worried expressions, both of them having a feeling like they would be seeing Fluffy, Hagrid's giant three-headed dog, again. Fleur saw their expressions and frowned herself, however, Bagman clapped his hands together loudly, preventing her from asking what they were worried about.  
  
"Well, then, if there aren't any questions, lets get back to the castle, shall we?" he asked. "It's a bit cold out here."  
  
Marik turned to try and re-navigate through the hedges once more, when he felt a light tap on his shoulder. He turned... and narrowed his eyes when he saw that it was Krum.  
  
"Could I haff a vord?"  
  
Marik glared at the Bulgarian, before his mouth twisted up in an expression that Harry had never seen before on his face. It was like the challenging smirk he saw on Seto's face when he dueled, mixed together with the demented smirk that appeared on Yami Bakura's face when he was in a particularly psychotic mood. It just did not look right on the Egyptian's face.  
  
"Sure, all right," Marik agreed.  
  
"Vill you valk vith me?"  
  
"Fine," he replied, that strange expression never leaving his face.  
  
Harry and Fleur exchanged concerned looks as the two champions started to leave. Fleur stepped forward slightly, so that she was standing near the edge of one of the hedges.  
  
"Marik, shall we wait for you?" she asked.  
  
"Iie, I'll be fine," Marik called back, the tone in his voice bringing a frown to Harry's face. Fleur turned back to him, biting her lip.  
  
"I am worried," she said. "Zeto told me about 'ow much he hates Krum."  
  
"Don't worry. He won't do anything drastic," Harry assured her, before adding mentally, ~~I hope...~~  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Marik Ishitar and Victor Krum stood face to face on a small stretch of ground near the Beauxbaton's horses' paddock. The Bulgarian stood half hidden in the shadow of the trees, while the Egyptian stood out in the open, staring down at him with a glare that would have made Seto proud. This was his true rival, he had no doubt about that; he had never felt such strong feelings of contempt and competition toward one person before, so what else could he be?  
  
"I vant to know," Krum finally said, "vot Hermy-own-ninny means to you."  
  
Marik gave him a hard look. Apparently, he was not as thick as he appeared.  
  
"First of all, her name is Hermione," he replied, his voice cold, "and she means the world to me. Iie, beyond that; the heavens themselves are inferior to her in my eyes."  
  
Krum gave him a critical look, and Marik continued before he could stop himself.  
  
"It's like when she's around," he began, "everything will be fine, just because she is the way she is. Her smile is a sweet kiss of rain on the desert; her eyes a sparkling treasure. Sometimes, it scares me how devoted I am to her." He swallowed, suddenly reminded of the dream that he had had the first night of school. "I would risk my life to have her back," he finished, his voice thick with his determination, "and I would sacrifice my very soul to protect her."  
  
A long pause impregnated the air after Marik finished speaking, the only sound coming from the rustling of the trees in the forbidden forest. Finally, Krum walked up to the Egyptian, a stony expression on his face. Marik braced himself, ready for a punch or some other kind of attack. He was in for a surprise, however; Krum smirked, resting a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Vy don't you tell her?" he asked.  
  
Marik blinked, caught off guard. He thought for sure he was going to end up with at least a black eye...  
  
"Eh?"  
  
"Vy don't you tell her you feel that vay?" Krum elaborated. "She vould vant to hear someth'ng like that, I am thinking."  
  
Marik blushed bright red, feeling for all the world like an idiot. Geeze, if it was that simple...  
  
Before he could say anything, the Gravekeeper caught sight of some kind of movement over Krum's shoulder. Knowing better than most people at the school what lurked in the forest, he grabbed the Bulgarian's arm and pulled him around. He was about to ask what was wrong, when Marik held up a hand, silently asking him to be quiet. His eyes never left the spot where he had seen movement, as he slipped a hand into his robes and reached for his wand...  
  
Suddenly, a man stumbled out from behind a thick oak tree. He was battered and unshaven, and looked like he had been traveling for days. It seemed almost as if he were talking to someone only he could see, though neither of the boys could make out the words. Marik took a cautious step forward... and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw whom it was.  
  
Bartemius Crouch.  
  
He raced toward the Ministry wizard, Krum right behind him.  
  
"Vosn't he a judge?" he asked when they reached him. "Isn't he vith your Ministry?"  
  
Marik nodded, not bothering to correct him on where "his" Ministry of Magic was. He took another cautious step forward, but Mr. Crouch did not even acknowledge him and continued talking to a nearby tree.  
  
"...and when you've done that, Weatherby, send an owl to Dumbledore confirming the number of Durmstrang student who will be attending the tournament, Karkaroff has just sent word there will be twelve..."  
  
"Crouch-san...?" Marik asked, tilting his head in an attempt to look him in the face.  
  
"...and then send another owl to Madame Maxime, because she might want to up the number of students she's bringing, now Karkaroff's made it a round dozen... do that, Weatherby, will you? Will you? Will..."  
  
Crouch's eyes bulged suddenly. His mouth moved in soundless words as he took a step back, before falling to his knees.  
  
"Crouch-san, are you all right?" Marik ask loudly, alarmed.  
  
"Vot is wrong vith him?" Krum asked, as Crouch's eyes started rolling in his head.  
  
"Haven't a clue," Marik muttered. "Listen, Hagrid's house is just along the edge of the forest. Why don't you -"  
  
"Dumbledore!" Mr. Crouch gasped suddenly, reaching out and grabbing a fist full of Marik's robes, pulling him closer, though his eyes were staring over his head. "I need... see... Dumbledore..."  
  
"Okay," Marik assured him. "If you get up, Crouch-san, I can take you to -"  
  
"I've done... stupid... thing..." Mr. Crouch kept rambling madly. "Must... tell... Dumbledore."  
  
"Just stand up, Crouch-san," Marik urged, trying to tug him to his feet. "Get up, and I'll take you to Dumbledore."  
  
Crouch's eyes rolled down until they were looking directly at Marik. The insane look in his eyes made the Gravekeeper gulp slightly, unnerved.  
  
"Who... you?" he whispered.  
  
"I'm Marik Ishitar, I'm a student at the school," he answered, making sure he spoke clearly to he could understand.  
  
"You're not... HIS?" Crouch asked quietly, his eyes bulging again in fear.   
  
"No..." Marik replied, having no idea what he was talking about.  
  
"Dumbledore's?"  
  
"Yes," he answered.   
  
Crouch pulled him so close they were practically nose-to-nose. Marik tried to loosen his grip, but somehow his insanity seemed to make him unusually strong.  
  
"Warn... Dumbledore..."  
  
"I'll get him if you let go of me," Marik tried to reason with him. "Just let -"  
  
"Thank you, Weatherby, and when you have done that, I would like a cup of tea. My wife and son will be arriving shortly, we are attending a concert tonight with Mr. and Mrs. Fudge."  
  
Crouch had gone talking back to the tree again, leaving Marik so confused that he did not realize he had let go of him until Krum pulled him to his feet.  
  
"Yes, my son has recently gained twelve O.W.L.s, most satisfactory, yes, thank you, yes, very proud indeed. Now, if you could bring me that memo from the Andorran Minister of Magic, I think I will have time to draft a response..."  
  
"Stay here," Marik said to Krum, giving Crouch a doubtful look. "I'll get Dumbledore. It'll be quicker, I know where his office is."  
  
"He is mad," Krum said, staring down at Mr. Crouch, who was talking at the tree like he was absolutely convinced it was Percy.  
  
"Just stay with him," Marik replied, exasperated, turning to leave. This movement seemed to trigger something with Mr. Crouch, however. He seized him about the knees, almost making him fall over.  
  
"Don't... leave... me!" he whispered, his eyes bulging again. "I... escaped... must warn... must tell... see Dumbledore... my fault... all my fault... Bertha... dead... all my fault... my son... my fault... tell Dumbledore... Harry Potter... the Dark Lord... stronger... Harry Potter... dark creature... no face..."  
  
Marik's breath froze in his throat at the last bit, his eyes widening in shock. A dark creature that did not have a face...?  
  
~~When next we meet, we will not share the same face...~~  
  
Marik knelt down till he was eyelevel with Crouch, placing a stern but insistent hand on his shoulder. Crouch seemed to calm slightly at the movement, but his eyes were still bulging.  
  
"Crouch-san, tell me," he said. "This dark creature, the one without a face... did he have a strange manner of speaking? Did he keep calling himself 'oré-sama'?"  
  
Marik did not get a chance to receive an answer. There was a shout of surprise from Krum, and when he turned to see what was wrong, numbness started to spread through his body. He hit the ground painfully, and the last thing he heard, before everything went black, was an intelligible scream from Crouch... 


	22. The Third Task

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
[Yami Seto walks into Skyla's room at the Angel Wings treehouse. Yami Yugi is sitting at the computer, chuckling slightly as he looks over the document for "Dawn of Fate". Skyla's bed is shaking, and her feet can be seen from underneath.]  
  
Y.Seto: Pharaoh, why is Sky-chan hiding under the bed?  
  
Y.Yugi: Hunh? [He looks.] Oh, she put up chapter twenty-two today.  
  
Y.Seto: Oh... THAT chapter, hunh?  
  
Y.Yugi: Yeah, THAT chapter.  
  
Y.Seto: Ah... so I guess that means there's no Q&A for this chapter, hunh?  
  
Y.Yugi: Yeah, there weren't that many people that reviewed anyway; she didn't give them the chance. Skyla did want us to mention something to Shaun Garin though.  
  
Y.Seto: Oh? What's that?  
  
Y.Yugi: That if he doesn't review this chapter, she kick the crap out of him next time she sees him on AIM.  
  
Y.Seto: [sniggers] And then she dove under the bed, hunh?  
  
Y.Yugi: Yup.  
  
Y.Seto: ^_^ Okay, everyone. Read, enjoy, and then review!  
  
Y.Yugi: Flames will be used to power up Sky-chan's God of Ra card.  
  
[Skyla can be heard whimpering under the bed.]  
.  
.  
.  
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO - THE THIRD TASK  
  
"Marik-kun! Onegai, wake up!"  
  
Marik blinked his eyes open slowly, gradually coming awake as he became aware of a painful stiffness in his body. He gazed above him blearily, seeing two twin sets of purple eyes above him. Yugi and Yami Yugi helped him sit up, and Marik became aware the he and the grass around them were wet from morning dew. He brushed his shirt off futilely, before looking around to see that not only were the pharaoh and his hikari there, but Dumbledore was as well. The elderly headmaster was over where Krum had fallen, trying to wake the Bulgarian. Mr. Crouch, however, was gone.  
  
"Thank goodness," Yugi said relieved. "When Dumbledore-sensei said you two were hurt, I feared the worst."  
  
"You two didn't try to attack each other, did you?" Yami Yugi asked, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Marik shook his head painfully.  
  
"No nothing like that," he said. He hesitated a moment, making sure Dumbledore was too preoccupied with Krum before whispering, "I'll need to talk to you two later. You, the Setos, and the Bakuras."  
  
The two of them exchanged alarmed looks as Marik slowly got to his feet, his legs stiff from being stuck in one position all night. He hobbled over to Dumbledore, wincing with each step.  
  
"How is he?" he asked, leaning against a tree once he was close enough.  
  
Dumbledore smiled benevolently. "Merely stunned, just as you were, Mr. Ishitar," he said. "He'll be all right, but this begs the question, 'What were you two doing out here last night?'"  
  
"Krum wanted to talk to me after we were showed what the third task was going to be, sir," Marik explained. "While we were talking, I saw Crouch-san in the forest."  
  
"Crouch?" Dumbledore asked, sounding slightly concerned.  
  
Marik nodded in affirmation. "Hai, it was definitely Crouch-san. It was like he had gone crazy. He kept rambling about his son, and... well, he said something about the Dark Lord becoming stronger."  
  
A dark look overtook Dumbledore's face as he looked up to him. "I feared as much..."  
  
"You mean... Voldemort's coming back?" Yami Yugi asked. The headmaster nodded, and Yugi squeaked in fear, holding onto his other self tightly; obviously remembering his last encounter with Voldemort. Dumbledore turned to them, a solemn look on his face, as Krum groaned, slowly coming to.  
  
"I cannot be certain when," the headmaster said softly. "But it is inevitable."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
It was a very solemn gathering in the library that day after lunch. Seto, Bakura, Yugi, and their respective Egyptian spirits sat around a table in the very back, away from the ears of other students and the librarian. Marik stood before the six of them, having already recounted the dreams he had had before the start of Battle City that past summer, and the first day of school, as well as what Crouch said about a faceless dark creature. No one had said anything while he was talking, and there was a long pause after he had finished.  
  
"So," Yami Bakura finally said, "he found a way to escape from the Shadow Realm."  
  
Yugi looked up sadly at Marik as his other self put an arm around him. "What are we going to do?" he asked. "We barely managed to defeat him the first time. He nearly killed two of our friends then as well."  
  
Yami Seto laced his fingers together, a distant look on his face. "It might not be so bad this time. He doesn't have a Millennium Item, nor can he get access to one."  
  
"But if what Crouch said was any indication, he's in league with Voldemort," Yami Yugi pointed out. "That in itself could lead to trouble."  
  
"You're all forgetting one thing," Seto said sternly. "He's still a spirit isn't he? He can't harm people in that form can he?"  
  
"No, but he can possess them," Bakura answered. "'The seven Chosen will stand before the Un-Chosen'." He looked up at Marik. "That's what Aishisu meant when she said that, didn't she?"  
  
"It's starting to look that way," Marik replied.  
  
The tomb robber swore under his breath. "Geeze. That could be any one out of thousands of people that don't have an Item."  
  
"What if it's Harry?"  
  
All eyes turned toward Yugi at his suggestion. The small of stature duelist looked at each of them, a concerned look on his face.  
  
"What if the Items are responding to him because they perceive him as a threat?" he asked. "It would not be the first time something like that happened."  
  
Yami Bakura nodded. "Or he could be the seventh priest. We still don't know if the Ankh is supposed to stay with Shadi or not."  
  
Yami Yugi stood up, looking at each of the others in turn; the pharaoh looking upon his loyal priests, and his life-long companion.  
  
"There is still much we do not know," he said. "As long as our story keeps going, however, we'll continue find out more. Until we do know more, we can only follow the turn of the pages." He paused a moment to let what he said sink in, before continuing, "We should explain this to Draco and Hermione. As Item holder's, they'll need to know."  
  
Yugi stood up, latching onto his other's arm. "We'll tell Draco-kun," he said, before turning to Marik. "Marik-kun, I take it you'll tell Hermione?"  
  
Marik nodded. "When the time is right, I'll tell her."  
  
Yugi nodded in return, before tugging on the pharaoh's arm, urging that they should find Draco right away. The two of them let the library together after bidding the others goodbye. Yami Bakura watched them leave, a deep frown on his face. Bakura put a hand on his shoulder, a silent inquiry as to what he was thinking about. The tomb robber glanced to him, before turning to the others.  
  
"Things are going to get harder for those two," he said sternly. "The power of the pharaoh… the power to unite the Gods under his name. Voldemort is going to want that power."  
  
Yami Seto bit his lip, understanding. "Yeah... maybe we should have tried to keep Panseru and Yugi's role as pharaoh a little more quiet."  
  
"It's too late for that now," Marik said, frowning bitterly. "Besides, I think Voldemort would have found out about it anyway. I mean, it was probably because of Pettigrew he knew about the God Cards. Who knows what else that rat may have heard."  
  
"So what are we going to do?" Bakura asked, worried.  
  
"The only thing we can do," Seto replied, standing up from his seat. "We're their priests, right? It's our duty to make sure nothing happens to them, and to risk everything to protect them."  
  
Yami Seto looked up to him in surprise. "Hikari..."  
  
Seto closed his eyes a moment, trying to think of the best way to continue. "We've been through too much these past few years," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Since Duelist Kingdom, it's been an almost non-stop adventure; our lives far from mundane. And, like most adventurers, we've had to change ourselves in order to adapt to the difference in circumstances. The new emotions we feel, the way we react to one another... it just makes us stronger."  
  
He opened his eyes then, looking at each of them, before resting a hand on his other half's shoulder. Yami Seto looked down at it, then up at his hikari. A soft smile came to his face; his hikari was really growing up emotionally, and that made him so very proud.  
  
"Each of us, even Hermione and Draco, and whomever the seventh person will be; even our other selves," Seto continued. "We're each a new generation of priests, and we have to live up to that honor. We have to protect our pharaohs and our loved ones... as well as this world we live in. It's an overwhelming responsibility... but I know that we can do it. I have faith that we can succeed."  
  
There was a long stretch of silence, before...  
  
"Well said, High Priest," Yami Bakura complimented with a smile. Bakura and Marik nodded in agreement. Seto looked down to see that his other self was also smiling, the pride in him practically radiating from his expression.  
  
Seto's lips quirked up in a small smirk. "Let's go."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
HARRY POTTER  
"DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS"  
  
The boy who defeated He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named  
is unstable and possibly dangerous, writes Rita  
Skeeter, Special Correspondent. Alarming evidence  
has recently come to light about Harry Potter's  
strange behavior, which casts doubts upon his  
suitability to compete in a demanding competition  
like the Triwizard Tournament, or even to attend  
Hogwarts School.  
Potter, the Daily Prophet can exclusively reveal,  
regularly collapses at school, and is often her to  
complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of  
the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to  
kill him). On Monday last, midway through a  
Divination lesson, your Daily Prophet reporter  
witnessed Potter storming from the class, claiming  
that his scar was hurting too badly to continue  
studying.  
It is possible, say top experts at St. Mungo's  
Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, that  
Potter's brain was affected by the attack inflicted  
upon him by You-Know-Who, and that his insistence  
that the scar is still hurting is an expression of his  
deep-seated confusion.  
"He might even be pretending," said one  
specialist. "This could be a plea for attention."  
The Daily Prophet, however, has unearthed  
worrying facts about Harry Potter that Albus  
Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts, has carefully  
concealed from the wizarding public.  
"Potter can speak Parseltongue," reveals Ecillia  
Lestrange, a Hogwarts fourth year. "There were a lot  
of attacks on students a couple years ago, before I  
was transferred here, and most people thought Potter  
was behind them after they saw him lose his temper  
at a dueling club and set a snake on another boy. It  
was all hushed up, though. But he's made friends  
with werewolves and giants too. We think he'd do  
anything for a bit of power."  
Parseltongue, the ability to converse with snakes,  
has long been considered a Dark Art. Indeed, the  
most famous Parselmouth of our times is none other  
than You-Know-Who himself. A member of the  
Dark Force Defense League, who wishes to remain  
unnamed, stated that he would regard any wizard  
who could speak Parseltongue "as worthy of  
investigation. Personally, I would be highly  
suspicious of anybody who could converse with  
snakes, as serpents are often used in the worst kinds  
of Dark Magic, and are historically associated with  
evildoers." Similarly, "anyone who seeks out the  
company of such vicious creatures as werewolves  
and giants would appear to have a fondness for  
violence."  
Albus Dumbledore should surely consider  
whether a boy such as this should be allowed to  
compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Some fear  
that Potter might resort to the Dark Arts in his  
desperation to wing the tournament, the third task of  
which takes place this evening.  
  
Yugi frowned bitterly as he folded up his copy of the "Daily Prophet" that hot June morning, glaring over Harry's head as he caught sight of Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle grabbing their heads and contorting their faces in mock pain. Harry just had a bored look on his face as he picked at his breakfast.  
  
"Gone off on me a bit, hasn't she?" he asked, starting to munch on a strip of bacon.  
  
"I wish I knew how she was doing this!" Yugi exclaimed, pounding his fist down on the table.  
  
"Maybe she's got this place bugged or something," Marik commented idly, spreading some jelly on a piece of toast.  
  
"Bugged?" Ron asked, confused.  
  
"Oh, I know this one!" Draco exclaimed happily just as Yami Yugi was about to explain. "It's when someone leaves equipment around to listen in on a person. Like miniature microphones and video cameras hidden about in a place in order to spy on someone."  
  
Yami Yugi nodded, while Harry shook his head. "I honestly don't think she would do that, though. I mean, how can she have the WHOLE SCHOOL bugged?"  
  
"I don't know," the pharaoh replied. "Maybe she did it over the summer or before that even. What do you think aibou... aibou?"  
  
Yugi, however, had a bright look on his face, as if something just occurred to him. He ran a hand through his hair, a slow, mischievous grin spreading on his face.  
  
"Um... aibou?"  
  
"I think I know how she's doing it..." he murmured. "And if she is..." He grinned. "Oh, she is in SO much trouble..."  
  
Marik raised an eyebrow. "You mind on enlightening the rest of us?"  
  
Yugi just shook his head, however. "I'll let you know if I'm right."  
  
Marik was about to comment further, when Professor McGonagall approached their table.  
  
"Potter, Ishitar, the champions are congregating in the chamber off the Hall after breakfast," she announced.  
  
"But the task's not until tonight!" Harry exclaimed, accidentally spilling his scrambled eggs down his front.  
  
"I'm aware of that, Potter," she replied, frowning in disapproval as he attempted to clean up the eggs. "The champions' families are invited to watch the final task, you know. This is simply a chance for you to greet them."  
  
Harry gaped at her as she moved away, before turning to the others. "She doesn't expect the Dursleys to turn up, does she?"  
  
Marik stuffed the rest of his toast in his mouth, catching Fleur pull Seto out of his seat early and steer him toward the side chamber out of the corner of his eye, obviously eager for him to meet her family before he had to hurry off to one of his final exams. Seto did not look as anxious as she was, though, and Marik had to force himself not to bust out laughing at the massive blush on his face.  
  
"C'mon, Harry," Marik said after he swallowed his food. "Hurry up and finish eating. Even if none of your family showed up, at least you'll get a chance to meet my onee-san."  
  
Harry managed to stuff the rest of his food down his throat, before getting up and bidding the others goodbye. He rushed to keep up with Marik as they made their way to the side chamber that Fleur and Seto, as well as Krum had already entered. Inside, the other two champions were already speaking with their families in their native languages (Seto had turned an even brighter shade of red by this time). Off to the side was Marik's quietly elegant sister, Isis, whom Harry had already met briefly at the end of their first year at the school. She was not the only one there, however…  
  
"Jonouchi-kun!" Marik exclaimed, surprised. "Mutou Ojii-san!"  
  
"Mrs. Weasley!" Harry also exclaimed, equally surprised. "Bill! What are you doing here?"  
  
Bill Weasley grinned. He was the eldest of the Weasley boys, and he wore his flaming red hair long as well as a fang earring in his left ear. Harry had met him over the summer when he had gone to the Quidditch World Cup.  
  
"We didn't want you to be the only one without family to cheer you on," he said, reaching out to muss up Harry's hair.  
  
"And what about you two?" Marik asked, looking to Jonouchi and Sugoroku.  
  
The blonde grinned roguishly, before saying in Japanese, "I've wanted to see this place, since you guys keep telling me about it."  
  
Sugoroku nodded, a nostalgic look on his face. "It's been years since I've been here," he said in English, though his speech was a bit shaky. "It seems like nothing has changed, even after all this time."  
  
Marik grinned, turning to his sister. "How'd you manage to put up with the koinu over such a long flight?"  
  
Jonouchi pouted and glared as Isis giggled.  
  
"I told him I would put him in the pen if he did not behave," she said, playing along.  
  
Jonouchi let out a dog-like whimper as Seto approached them. He had said his goodbyes to Fleur and her mother, though he still looked a little red from the encounter. He shook hands with Isis, Sugoroku, Mrs. Weasley, and Bill; before turning to grin at the blonde Japanese boy.  
  
"How was the kennel flight?" he asked, a smirk on his face.  
  
Jonouchi smirked, before pointing to his face. "Blush much?" he asked in obviously unpracticed English. Seto coughed, muttering something about having to get to class, before walking away, Jonouchi sniggering in his wake. Marik and Harry just shook their heads sadly.  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
After spending most of the day showing Isis and the others around the school, everyone shared dinner together at the Gryffindor table. Yugi was ecstatic to see his grandfather and best friend at Hogwarts, and had practically talked their ears off within the first few minutes. Yami Bakura and Bakura came over after finishing their meals to greet everyone, as well as Seto and his yami.  
  
When the time came for the task to begin, Marik almost did not want to leave. It was just so enjoyable being with his sister at his school that he just wanted it to last a little bit longer. He stood up with Harry and the other champions however, bidding everyone goodbye before heading out to the Quidditch field.  
  
Bagman had stayed true to his word; the hedges for the maze were now twenty feet high. Marik and Harry stood side-by-side at the entrance, feeling a bit intimidated. Since they were tied for points, they would be the first ones in the seemingly daunting maze.  
  
It was not long before the stands of the Quidditch stadium were filled. Marik and Harry spotted their companions - even Hermione - and waved up to them. Everyone waved back, giving encouraging gestures as Bagman started to announce where everyone stood in terms of points. Marik let his gaze linger a bit on Hermione, trying to convey how much he could not wait for the task to end so he could see her again just by his gaze. She seemed confused by the expression, but eventually nodded, smiling slightly.  
  
"So... on my whistle, Harry and Marik," Bagman announced, forcing Marik to tear his gaze away. "Ready... and..."  
  
There was a short blast from Bagman's whistle, and Harry and Marik plowed into the entrance of the maze. Whether it was because the hedges were enchanted or because they were just so huge, they could not tell, but all sounds of the crowd vanished as soon as they entered, leaving the two of them in an eerie silence.  
  
"Lumos!" Marik exclaimed, casting the spell that made the tip of his wand light up. Harry did the same as they ran down the long starting corridor of the maze. They soon reached a fork in the road; and Marik wished Harry luck as he disappeared down the left fork.  
  
The Egyptian plowed down the right fork. He heard another whistle go off and increased his speed, knowing that Krum was entering the maze. The only thing that he could hear was his pounding footfalls as he sped through the maze, and he was starting to get concerned. Why had he not run into anything yet? He thought this maze was supposed to be full of creatures and enchantments.  
  
He reached another fork in the path, and paused the catch his breath before holding up the Millennium Ring.  
  
"Triwizard Cup," he said. The points sprang to life instantly, pointing down the left path. Marik let the Millennium Item rest against his chest again, and the points continued to remain active as he headed down the left path. Again, he thought that this path was deserted as well, when a deafening screech sounded around a bend. He turned... and nearly ended up face to ugly face with one of Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts. The creature had grown considerably since the last time he had seen it, and it had gotten uglier too.  
  
"Stupefy!" he shouted. The spell hit the Skrewt's armored shell and rebounded, smacking into the hedges. Marik backed up until his back was pressed against a wall of hedges. This... was not good. Unless he did something quickly, that stinger attached to the Skrewt's tail was going to come around and...  
  
Wait... these things were not called BLAST ENDED Skrewts for nothing. Maybe if he hit the tail with something, it would explode! Lowering his wand, Marik waved his other hand, shouting out a quick word of Egyptian. The tail of the Skrewt burst into flames immediately, and the creature started to shudder in response. He ducked out of the way just in time to avoid being hit by exploding Skrewt guts.  
  
"Ugh..." Marik said, making a face as he got up and peered at the charred carcass left behind. "Note to self: never do that again."  
  
He edged around the still smoking remains, before taking off toward the left again and heading deeper inside the maze. All was quiet again, until he ran out into a cross section and almost collided with Harry.  
  
"You all right, Marik?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah, just be careful," Marik warned. "Hagrid's Blast Ended Skrewts are in here." He made a face. "Whatever you do, don't hit it in the tail."  
  
With that said, he headed off down another path, pausing only briefly to see Harry continuing along the cross section. This path was quiet too, but Marik was not about to let himself be lulled into a false sense of security again. He kept a tight grip on his wand as he continued to push onward, looking around each intersection before heading in the direction that the Ring was pointing.  
  
The Gravekeeper came to a halt as a sudden scream echoed through the maze.  
  
"Fleur?!" he shouted.  
  
It had sounded so very close, but in this maze, who knew how long it would take before he could find her. Marik raced down the path he was on, nervous by the fact that he was not running into any opposition. He kept one eye on the Millennium Ring, which automatically changed the direction it was pointing in as soon as he came to an intersection, while he kept his other eye on the sky. They were supposed to send up red sparks if they got into trouble that was too much for them to handle, but he had not seen any yet. Did Fleur manage to deal with whatever made her scream on her own... or had whatever it was made it so she could not get to her wand?  
  
Marik finally had to stop running, and he leaned against one of the hedges, his breath burning in his lungs as he gasped for air. He never knew the Quidditch field was this big. It certainly did not look that way on a broomstick.  
  
He straightened and was about to continue on, when he got the sense that something was behind him. Spinning around and holding up his wand, he let out a sigh of relief when he saw it was only Krum.  
  
"Geeze, you scared me," Marik accused. "You could make a little more noise when you're coming up behind someone, you know?"  
  
Krum, however, did not respond. He had a strange look in his eyes as he raised his wand. Marik took a step back; this could not be good.  
  
"Krum... what are you doing?" he demanded. "Krum -!"  
  
"Crucio!"  
  
Marik knew that he had to have been screaming, but the pain that lanced through his body was so intense, he did not even notice. He fell to his knees, his whole body feeling like it was on fire and being twisted around itself at the same time. The pain seemed to increase drastically every time Krum took a step toward him... when suddenly it stopped.  
  
Marik picked himself up from the ground, not realizing he had fallen to his back in all the pain. He was breathing heavily as he looked to his left to see Harry standing over a stunned Krum, his wand pointed down at him.  
  
"You all right?" he asked.  
  
"Yeah," Marik answered, panting. "I don't believe this. I thought he was an okay guy."  
  
"Yeah, me too," Harry agreed. "Did you hear Fleur scream earlier?"  
  
"Unh-hunh," he replied. "You don't think he got to her too, do you?"  
  
"I hope not," Harry said, a slight smirk on his face. "And if he did, I wouldn't want to be him when Seto found out."  
  
"Actually, I would pay to see that conversation... or fist fight rather," Marik responded, smirking as well. He raised his wand and sent a shower of red sparks up into the sky, marking where Krum had fallen.  
  
The two of them headed off along the same path for a moment, before the two of them split off again, with Marik heading off to the right. He blindly followed the directions the Millennium Ring was pointing him in, his mind lost in his thoughts. Professor Moody had told them once that use of the Unforgivable Curses was punishable with a lifetime in Azkaban. Had Krum wanted to win so much that he would risk something like that? It did not seem like him at all, though; and that look in his eyes... he had seen that look in the eyes of members of GHOULS that he had to control when he possessed the Millennium Rod. It was a look of involuntary submission... and it left a bad taste in his mouth. Was someone messing with the final task...?  
  
Suddenly, the Millennium Ring started to shudder, snapping him out of his thoughts. He stopped and looked down to see that all five points were pointing directly in front of him. Looking up, he saw it: the Triwizard Cup stood gleaming on a plinth quite a distance before him. Not wasting another moment, he broke out into a sprint, heading straight for the cup before him. He was almost there...! Just a little further...!  
  
"Marik! On your left!"  
  
The sudden shout surprised him, but looking toward his left surprised Marik even more. A gigantic black something was scuttling straight toward him, and if he did not move, he was going to collide with it head on. He threw himself forward, just barely avoiding whatever it was, but also tripped in the process, sending his wand flying away from him.  
  
"Stupefy!"  
  
The black thing stopped coming for Marik, and instead headed straight for Harry. The Gravekeeper scrambled for his wand as he heard the other wizard shouting off several hexes, none of which seemed to be doing him any good. Finally grabbing his wand, he turned around, ready to help Harry against the creature. Only thing was, the creature was one of the giant spiders from the forbidden forest, and it had his friend in its pinchers.  
  
"Stupefy!" he shouted. A burst of magic shot out of his wand, but the spell did not seem to do anything but irritate it. He was about to try something drastic when Harry cast a disarming spell on it, making the spider drop him twelve feet.  
  
"HARRY!" Marik exclaimed. He saw Harry shakily raising his wand, and he did the same in time for them to both cast the Stunning Spell against the creature. The combined power of the spells did what one alone could not, and the spider teetered slightly, before falling over, crushing some of the hedges.  
  
"Harry, you all right?" Marik asked, running to his side. Harry's leg was bleeding freely, and he was having a difficult time standing.  
  
Harry waved toward something behind Marik. "Go on, take it."  
  
Confused, Marik turned slightly. Behind him, begging to be touched, was the Triwizard Cup. He frowned, before turning back to his friend.  
  
"How can you be worried about that when you've been hurt like this?" he asked, walking right over to him and slinging one of Harry's arms over his shoulders, trying to help steady him. Harry just gave him a dull look.  
  
"If you take the Cup, this'll be all over?" he replied, his voice a bit sarcastic.  
  
"Then we'll take it together."  
  
Harry looked at Marik as if he had grown another head.  
  
"Hey, don't look at me in that tone of voice," Marik said, grinning. "We'll tie for it. Either way, it's still a Hogwarts - and a Gryffindor - victory."  
  
Harry looked unsure for a moment, before he grinned as well. "Yeah, okay."  
  
The two companions hobbled up to the plinth the Cup stood on. They reached out a hand, letting them hover over each of the Cup's handles, before turning to each other.  
  
"On the count of three," Harry said. "One... two... three...!"  
  
No sooner had they each grabbed a handle, that Marik felt a jerk somewhere behind his navel. Somehow, his feet seemed to leave the ground, and he could not let go of the Cup. It felt like he was being pulled forward in a howl of wind and swirling color, still holding onto Harry as tightly as he could.  
  
It seemed to take an eternity for the sickening mode of transportation to finally drop them off. Marik felt his feet slam back onto ground, and he lost his grip on Harry as the other boy's injured leg gave out on him, making him fall forward toward the ground. The both of them were finally able to let go of the Cup and they did so, letting it fall to the ground with a THUD as Marik turned to help Harry back to his feet.  
  
"Did anyone tell you that the Triwizard Cup was a Portkey?" Harry asked.  
  
"I don't even know what a 'Portkey' is," Marik replied.  
  
The Gravekeeper felt his blood run cold as he took a look around at his surroundings. Somehow, they had ending up in an eerie graveyard... the same misty, overgrown graveyard that he had seen in his dream. He held onto Harry tightly, and kept an even tighter grip on his wand, listening...  
  
He heard it... a low, sinister laugh that he would recognize anywhere...  
  
"That doesn't sound human..." Harry muttered, his voice quavering a bit.  
  
"That's 'cause it's not," Marik returned, his eyes scanning around for the source of the voice.  
  
Suddenly, a figure emerged from the mists. Whoever it was, they were short, and wearing a cloak with the hood pulled low over their face. As the person drew closer, the boys were able to see that they carrying something in their arms. Was it a baby or a bundle or robes...? The two of them could not tell, as only the stars provided any kind of light.  
  
There was a long pause as the two boys just stared at the figure, when suddenly Harry shouted in pain. He clutched at his head, falling out of Marik's grasp and to his knees. The Gravekeeper turned away from the figure, reaching out to see if he could help his friend...  
  
~~"Kill the spare."~~  
  
Marik paused what he was doing at the high, cold voice. He looked back toward the figure...  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
~~Bye, bye, hikari-pretty...~~  
  
Marik felt oddly detached from his body as the deadly green light lanced out at him. There was no pain of any kind, just a strange feeling of his soul, of his very existence being torn away as the world around him turned black... 


	23. Heart of Burning Magic

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
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[Inside Skyla's room at the Angel Wings tree house. Yami Yugi is stretched out on Skyla's bed, reading a Hellsing manga. Skyla is at her computer, looking over her reviews and chuckling.]  
  
Y.Yugi: You're an evil authoress, you know that right?  
  
Skyla: ^_^ But of course. I really had people going here. It seems like some of them were crying!  
  
Y.Yugi: -_- Oui...  
  
Skyla: Did you see this? This is the most reviews I've ever gotten for a chapter. Maybe I should kill a character more often; it sure as heck gets people's attention.  
  
Y.Yugi: Just do the Q&A before a mob of fan girls attack you.  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Harpie Yamazaki: ::hands her a tissue:: There, there... ^^;  
  
Hikari no Mari: Heh, glad you like the the series so far. ::hugs her and her yami::  
  
TypoNumber5: Oh, my... I made someone schizophrenic. O_o  
  
T'laren: ^^;;; Cliffies are the best to write, but the worst to read.  
  
Violet Blossoms: Yes... yes I did say a character was going to die... ^_^  
  
Inu-Ranma: Yeah; Yami Yugi's real name (Atemu) is like an uber "Fusion" card. His name fuses the three Gods together into one seriously awesome creature.  
  
MillenniumDreamer: I never said I wouldn't. ::innocent whistle::  
  
Cloud Dragon: ::helps her stand back up:: There, there... hang in there and read this chapter. ;)  
  
Yami Yami Yugi: O_O Okay, that one just freaks me out, thanks...  
  
Towairaito Zoon: ::snaps her fingers:: Damn. You were only one of two people that weren't fooled.  
  
Bardicfeline: You were the other person. ;) And don't worry, I planned some Isis and Bill interaction later on.  
  
WatcherofDarkness: Yes... yes it did hurt... ;)  
  
Mimiheart: ^_______^  
  
AbbiCat14: O_o ::hands her a tissue:: Um... there, there?  
  
Kitty Neko: It's amazing that it took a character dying for you to leave a review that didn't just say "update soon". _ _  
  
Shaun Garin: ::squeezes back:: Review again, okay? The more feedback, the merrier. :)  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Y.Yugi: Aren't you don't yet?  
  
Skyla: Hush! There's an art in responding to sobbing, hysterical people. XD  
  
Y.Yugi: ::rolls his eyes::  
  
Skyla: Anyway... this story broke my record for longest fan fic! My last record was twenty-two chapters at a hundred and sixty-six pages. This one is twenty-three chapters at a hundred and seventy-one pages, and still going!  
  
Y.Yugi: You know, this just proves you have no life...  
  
Skyla: -_-;;;;  
  
Y.Yugi: Gottcha. ~_^  
  
Skyla: ::grumbles:: Read, enjoy, and then review.  
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE - HEART OF BURNING MAGIC  
  
It felt like a piece of herself had died, there was no other way Hermione could have described it. One minute, she was cheering Harry and Marik on with the others, the next minute she felt cold and empty. She looked over to her other self, sitting quietly next to her. Aishisu had a stony and distant expression on her face, as if she were looking at something that no one else could see. The soothsayer turned to give her light half a worried look, before leaning over and tapping Yami Yugi on the shoulder, who sat one seat below them with his arm wrapped around his hikari.  
  
"Pharaoh, I fear something terrible has happened," she said loud enough to be heard over the roar of the crowd. Yami Yugi's expression suddenly turned concerned.  
  
"What is it?" he asked.  
  
"I... I think Marik's light has just gone out."  
  
Yami Yugi jumped from his seat, startling Yugi, demanding to know what she meant by that. Hermione, however, just sat in her seat, her mind numb. Marik was...  
  
Marik...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
The pain from his scar finally receded, Harry was once again able to see what was happening in the graveyard around him. What he saw first, however, shook him to his very soul. Marik was lying spread-eagled next to him. His lavender eyes were open, yet vacant, as if he were staring through the windows of an empty house. His mouth was open, looking like he had been surprised before he...  
  
He was...  
  
Before Harry's brain could even accept what had happened, he felt himself being hauled up to his feet. The hooded figure - he was able to tell that it was a man this close - had set down his bundle and was now dragging him toward one of the tombstones. He barely felt being slammed against one of the largest stones, nor did he notice that the man had conjured thick cords to bind him to the stone from his neck down to his ankles. His eyes never left the spot where Marik's body lay, half hidden by the thick mists.  
  
Marik was...  
  
His best friend was...!  
  
"Bone of the father, unknowingly given, you will renew your son!"  
  
The voice of the cloaked man brought Harry back to reality in time to see the surface of the grave at his feet crack open. He watched in horror as a find trickle of dust he suspected was decayed bone floated up into the air before falling into a steaming black cauldron. Next to the cauldron was the man that had tied him up; his hood had fallen back to reveal none other than Peter Pettigrew. The bundle he had been carrying was nowhere in sight, and Harry had a sinking suspicion that it was inside the cauldron.  
  
Pettigrew was whimpering, and he pulled out a long, shining silver dagger from inside his cloak.  
  
"Flesh... of the servant... w-willingly given... you will... revive... your master."  
  
Harry realized what he was going to do, and managed to turn away a split second before it actually happened. Pettigrew screamed in agony as his right hand landed in the cauldron, no longer attached to the rest of his arm. His pain-filled scream echoed through the dead night, sending chills down Harry's spine.  
  
Before he knew it, Pettigrew had managed to drag himself over to his side.   
  
"B-blood of the enemy... forcibly taken... you will... resurrect your foe."  
  
The dagger lanced out, piercing the crook of Harry's right arm. He saw his own blood seeping down the sleeve of his torn robes, and Pettigrew somehow managed to pull out a glass vial from his pocket and held it up to the cut, taking the blood for the cauldron.  
  
Pettigrew staggered back to said cauldron, before pouring Harry's blood inside. The liquid within instantly glared white, making the young wizard turn away from it. He did not see Pettigrew fall to the earth after his job was finished, though he did hear his sobs. The cauldron started to simmer, sending diamond-like sparks in all directions that were so bright it turned all else to darkness. Nothing happened...  
  
"Please, God, let it have drowned..." Harry muttered, not realizing he had said something aloud.  
  
To his horror, something actually responded. It was a laugh, the same cold, cruel laugh he had heard when they first arrived.  
  
"Oré-sama doesn't think it's that simple, pretty-pretty," a voice hissed in his ear.  
  
Harry felt his blood run cold at the voice. He looked around frantically, trying to find the source of it. It almost sounded like... but that was impossible, he was...  
  
His thoughts were drawn away from the voice as the sparks emanating from the cauldron suddenly extinguished. A surge of white steam shot up from the cauldron instead, obliterating everything before him with its thickness. Harry squinted, trying to see what was happening. Maybe the voice was wrong; maybe it was that simple, and it did drown.  
  
Oh, please, let it be dead...  
  
As if mocking him, a dark outline of a man appeared within the mists before him. He was tall and skeletally thin, and was rising ever so slowly from inside the cauldron.  
  
"Robe me," came the high, cold voice from the steam. Harry felt a surge of darkness brush past him, and an un-definable dark creature started to walk toward the cauldron. It had the shape of a human, but everything else was distorted, as if it was not sure what its true form really was. He had to assume, though, that it was a spirit like Yami Yugi and the others had been, for it was able to pick up the man's robes from the ground and pull them over his head.  
  
The tall, thin man stepped out of the cauldron, staring at Harry...  
  
Harry felt himself pushing against the tombstone he was bound to, trying to get away from that face... the face that had haunted his nightmares for the past three years. It was whiter than a skull, with wide, sinister scarlet eyes and a nose that was as flat as a snake's with slits for nostrils...  
  
Lord Voldemort had risen again...  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Hermione ran as fast as she could through the Quidditch stadium stands, tears stinging her eyes. She could hear the sounds of Aishisu and Yami Yugi trying to keep up behind her, but she paid them no heed. She was too intent on getting to the judge's box, which was where the teachers normally sat during a Quidditch game, and trying to ignore the images that kept trying to force their way into her mind. Images of a vile snake, once dead, suddenly coming to life and striking out at...  
  
Oh, Gods. It was all her fault...  
  
She finally pushed her way past the last of the crowd blocking her path to the judge's box. Looking up, she saw that Dumbledore seemed to be preoccupied with watching the task, but from the slight frown on his face, it looked like he already knew something was wrong.  
  
"Professor Dumbledore!" Hermione called up to get his attention, just as Aishisu and Yami Yugi finally caught up to her. "Something terrible has happened!"  
  
Dumbledore turn his concerned gaze over to her, while Madame Maxime tsked in disapproval.  
  
"'Ow could you even know zat someth'ng was wrong?" she demanded. Dumbledore, however, put a hand on her broad shoulder.  
  
"Believe me, Olympe, if anyone were to know something was wrong, it would be her," he assured her.  
  
Maxime still looked doubtful as Dumbledore stood up and raised his wand. Blue sparks shot out of it, and even from her vantage point, Hermione could see Professor McGonagall and Hagrid enter the maze. Professor Moody, the fourth of the teachers that had been assigned to patrol the outside of the maze in the event there was trouble, was nowhere that she could see.  
  
"You three," Dumbledore said, nodding to Aishisu and Yami Yugi behind her. "Follow me."  
  
Hermione, Aishisu, and Yami Yugi followed the headmaster out of the stands, just as the cheers from the crowd started to turn into curious murmurs. By the time they reached one of the outside entrances to the maze, an unnatural hush had fallen over the stadium, one that made Hermione's hair stand on end.  
  
They were about to enter, when she saw Professor Flitwick standing next to Krum (who was sitting down) out of the corner of her eye. Hermione ran over to them, concerned about the way that Krum was acting. He was hugging his knees to his chest and his eyes were squeezed shut. She ran over to the two of them, kneeling beside the Bulgarian.  
  
"What happened?" she asked.  
  
"We found him stunned near the center of the maze," Flitwick answered.  
  
Krum turned a bleary gaze toward her. "Hermy-own-ninny, it is all my fault," he said, his voice choked with tears he was trying not to shed. "I did someth'ng terrible... but I do not know how. I do not even know the vand movement..."  
  
Hermione felt her breath freeze in her throat. Did he...?  
  
A hand fell on her shoulder, and she turned slightly to see Yami Yugi standing above her. His expression was grim, but determined.  
  
"Whatever has happened tonight," he said softly, "no one standing here should blame themselves for."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
They had arrived.  
  
Harry felt a shudder course its way through his body, watching in mute horror as wizards seemed to appear from out of nowhere. They approached the Dark Lord reverently, as if they could hardly believe he was really standing before them. Then, they each bowed at his feet, kissing the hem of his robes before backing off and forming a circle that enclosed Voldemort, the grave he was tied to, and the still whimpering Pettigrew. The dark spirit was still around as well, hovering somewhere near his shoulder, sending chills down his spine as the creature shifted restlessly.  
  
Voldemort began to speak to his gathered followers, and while Harry knew he should have paid attention to what he was saying in the event that he managed to escape. He just could not bring himself to do it, however. His eyes kept drifting back to where Marik was lying, his still body shrouded in the mists. There was no way he could be… no, he could not even think the word. Marik was alive… his best friend, one of the few people who had stuck with him no matter what... he HAD to be alive.  
  
"Poor, pretty-pretty," the dark creature hissed in his ear. "Holding on to hope? Holding on to the fact that oré-sama's old hikari-pretty will save you?"  
  
The faceless creature giggled sadistically as Harry's brain processed that information. Hikari... Yugi had told him once that "hikari" meant "light" and "yami" meant "darkness". Yugi, Seto, Ryou, and Hermione; they were called "hikaris" because theirs was the personality that was always present in the light of day. Panseru, the other Seto, Bakura, and Aishisu; they were called "yamis" because they hid in the shadows of the mind. As far as he knew, Marik was not supposed have a yami...  
  
Was he?  
  
"What are you?" Harry demanded, speaking out of the corner of his mouth. He got the feeling that if the spirit had a mouth, it had just broken out into a wide, sadistic grin.  
  
"'Yami' itself," he hissed in answer. "More specifically, Marik no Yami."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Something was definitely not right. Either he took a wrong turn on the way to Osiris' trial chamber, or someone was playing some kind of sick practical joke. He felt himself stir, and as he did so, also felt his spirit body ache in protest. That could not be right, though. If he was dead, how could he still be able to feel pain? Suddenly, there was a playful giggle from somewhere above him.  
  
"Teacher-sama, he's waking up!" came a girl-like voice.  
  
"Mana, please, if you crowd him any more, you're going to suffocate him," came a definitely masculine voice.  
  
"Well it's not my fault he's taking forever to wake up!" Mana's voice came again, sounding like she was pouting. Then, he felt something jabbing him in the side. "C'mon, you desert slug! Wake up!"  
  
"Mana...!" the man groaned.  
  
The poking continued, however. "C'mon, c'mon, c'mon! Darkness is threatening to take over your friend and you're just lying around sleeping!"  
  
Painfully, he reached a hand out, grabbing the finger that was poking him and cracking open an eye. He was lying down on... something, he could not tell what, looking up at a brown haired young woman with a youthful look to her face. She was wearing a strange sort of headband that rested over her errant hair, as well as a very short dress. The girl - Mana - smiled broadly, helping him sit up.  
  
"It's about time!" she exclaimed. "I was starting to think we missed a piece of your soul or something. How are you feeling, Marik?"  
  
Marik looked around blearily. It looked like they were in the middle of the desert; sand dunes dotted the landscape around them, and a gorgeous clear blue sky was above. Judging from what the girl had said... was this supposed to be his Soul Room? Looking beyond Mana, he saw that they were not the only ones there. An old man stood leaning on a golden cane, aloof from them, watching the exchange with slight interest. The other man, the one that had spoken before...  
  
"You," Marik said. "I had a dream about you."  
  
The man nodded, the points dangling from his shoulder ornaments glinting in the false sunlight. "I am Mahaado, one of Pharaoh Panseru's six priests and the leader of the Gravekeepers."  
  
Marik could only stare in silent shock. This was the man that the tomb robber said he was descended from... but...  
  
"How can you be here?" he asked. "What happened?"  
  
"We managed to grab your soul just as it was about to leave your body," Mana said, indicating herself, Mahaado, and the old man.  
  
Marik jumped to his feet. "Well, what are we waiting for?" he asked. "You said Harry-kun was in trouble. Why can't I just go back to my body and kick some ass?"  
  
Mana giggled at his use of words, while Mahaado frowned slightly.  
  
"It's... not that simple," he said.  
  
Marik glared. "What do you mean it's not that simple!?" he demanded. "One of my best friends is in trouble, and you tell me I can't hurry to help him? What gives you that right?!"  
  
"Your body is dead."  
  
Marik looked up in surprise as the old man shuffled closer to where he was standing. Wizened eyes that seemed as if they could barely see anymore peered up at him, and a benevolent expression appeared on his face. Something glared in the Egyptian's eyes, and he backed up a bit, glancing down. Around the man's neck hung a small, golden sun pendant, which was reflecting the false sunlight from above.  
  
"While we were able to easily save your soul," the old man continued, "we were unable to save your body without revealing ourselves, and that would have caused even more of a mess than what is going on now."  
  
The old man turned and pointed his staff to the sky, swirling it about. A window of perception appeared in his Soul Room, showing what was going on in the graveyard in the real world. Marik watched in horror, as helpless as Harry was tied to that tombstone, as Voldemort walked amongst his followers, speaking to each of them, before coming to Pettigrew. Words were exchanged, before something silvery came out of the Dark Lord's wand and attached itself to the stump that the rat's hand had once been attached to. A new hand formed itself there, and Pettigrew stood up, marveling at it.  
  
That was not the only thing going on in the scene that held Marik's attention. Next to Harry was a humanoid-shaped black THING... a thing that did not have a face...  
  
He fell to his knees as the scene faded away, a defeated look on his face.  
  
"So, that's it then," he muttered. "Voldemort's probably going to figure out some way to take Harry's soul away without harming his body, my Darkness will take over, and that'll be the end of everything before it even began."  
  
He felt, more than saw, Mahaado kneel down next to him. The priest rested a hand on his shoulder encouragingly.  
  
"You can't give up hope yet," he said.  
  
Marik looked over at his hand... and frowned slightly when he saw that the gold cuff Mahaado had been wearing around his lower arm had turned into a purple one. He looked up at the priest fully… only to stumble backward in shock. He was now garbed in the robes and armor of the Black Magician. The only thing that was missing from the outfit was the hat, allowing the priest's bleach-blonde hair to spill freely over his shoulders. Marik glanced over his shoulder at Mana, only to see that she too had changed. Her hair had become blonde as well, and she was dressed in the blue and pink dress of the Black Magician Girl.  
  
"Well..." Marik finally forced himself to say after a long moment. "At least now I know what the tomb robber meant when he said you were sleeping within Yugi's deck..."  
  
Mahaado chuckled slightly, reaching out to where the Millennium Ring hung around Marik's chest. He lifted it up slightly, letting the points dangle down.  
  
"The magic of protection from the Millennium Ring had been tainted by that tomb robber," he said. "But it seems that since you've had it, it has been able to purify itself, thanks to your innocent soul."  
  
"When you can return to the real world again, you should be able to use its power to its fullest," Mana added, before winking. "As well as a little something special from the two of us."  
  
Marik looked between the two of them, frowning slightly. "But... you just said that my body was dead. How can I go back if I don't have a body to go back to?"  
  
"That is what we're waiting for."  
  
Marik peered back up at the old man. A Black Magician... a Black Magician Girl... if that pendant was any indication, then the old man had to be...  
  
Ra smiled benevolently. "We're waiting for a miracle from another God."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
"Crucio!"  
  
Harry had never experienced such pain before in his life. He wanted to move against the pain, to try to get it all to stop, but he was bound so tightly to the tombstone that the only thing he could do was scream out his pain. Then, just as quickly as it had come, it vanished once again, leaving him hanging heavily against the cords the bound him, gasping desperately for breath. He glared up at the pale face of Voldemort, shuddering slightly at the murderous look in his red eyes. The dark creature had moved from his position behind Harry, and was now leaning casually against the cauldron.  
  
"Oui," Marik no Yami commented idly, "don't damage pretty-pretty's body too much, eh? Oré-sama does not want to have to enter a weak body."  
  
Voldemort gave the dark spirit a casual glace. "I assure you, my dark friend," he said, "you will receive your just reward for assisting me."  
  
One of the Death Eaters that had gathered stepped forward. "My lord..." came Lucius Malfoy's voice, "please tell us... what exactly is that... CREATURE... and what is his purpose?"  
  
Voldemort smirked, before reaching over to rest a hand on Marik no Yami's shoulder. The dark spirit turned slightly to look at Malfoy. Though he had no face, it seemed as if he was giving the Death Eater a wicked smile that was terrifying enough to make him step back.  
  
"As you all well know," Voldemort began, "I encountered a slight... problem four years ago. That problem was an ancient power I had never heard of before; it was so strong that it left me unfathomably weak. I drifted in and out between this realm and another... and realm of shadows. That was where I met this creature of darkness. He told me a fascinating story of a spirit of a pharaoh with no memory, of tomb robbers and priests of the ancient days of Egypt... of cards so powerful that they could grant the world to whomever controlled all three of them. Of course, I was a bit skeptical at first, but I knew a creature of pure darkness could not lie, so I pulled him out of that dark realm with me. And then, who should come to be but none other than Wormtail, holding this in his ratty paws."  
  
Voldemort reached into his robes and pulled out a Duel Monsters card. It was unlike any card he had ever seen, however. It was clearly a monster card, but instead of the yellow, brown, purple, or blue boarders of the normal, effect, fusion, and ritual monsters he knew of, the boarder for this card was jet black. The picture was indescribable; it seemed to be a snake - as the monster was nothing more than the long body of such a creature - yet it had the head of a Chinese dragon. Though Harry could not make out any kind of effect or attack and defense information in the darkness, he was able to see the name of the card easily enough. It was printed in English, and the words seemed to burn themselves into the minds of all who looked upon it.  
  
Sinister Serpent, the God of Set.  
  
That thing was a GOD CARD.  
  
"This card signaled the rebirth of a God," Voldemort continued his narrative, returning the God Card to its hiding place. "A little bit of digging revealed everything else I needed to know... 'Should the nameless pharaoh choose to live on in this life, then the ancient wars will be renewed and chaos will return to the world. Two of the old Gods will be revived, one to oppose all. On the day of fate, in the hour of destiny, seven Chosen Ones, with the aid of the four Gods, will stand before the un-Chosen, who wields the power of the Stinking Head. The seven Chosen will fight bravely, but in the end they will fall. If these images remain unchanged, then everything will return to the beginning... a thousand years to infinity... a thousand times to repeat forevermore.'"  
  
Harry's mouth hung open in shock. Except for the first part, that was Aishisu's prophesy from last year... but how could he have known about it? Pettigrew had gone into hiding long before the day in Divination, so he could not have learned it from him. Then how...?  
  
Harry was forced out of his thoughts, as Voldemort was stalking toward him, that murderous gleam back in his eyes.  
  
"I will change these images," he said, "because I will take the other revived God, and make sure it will never be used against me!"  
  
He did not know what happened next. One moment, Harry heard Voldemort utter something in another language, the next minute his body was exploding with a white-hot pain that put the Cruciatus Curse to shame. He wanted to scream, but he did not have the voice to express just how painful it was. It felt like his very soul was being torn in half, and he would give anything for that excruciating pain to stop...  
  
~~Don't give up yet!~~  
  
The voice rang clear in his head, and before he knew it, Harry could not feel the pain anymore. A strange feeling came over him, like he was in two places at once. With his own eyes, he could see Voldemort's sinister face, yet his mind's eye showed him a completely different picture. He saw a boy, who could not be any older than eight, dressed in nothing more than a strange sort of kilt with a billowing cape of golden-red feathers drifting out behind him.  
  
~~Please,~~ the boy said in his mind. ~~I'll lend you some of my power to fight him off, but please don't let him take me away. I'm not ready to come to this world again just yet!~~  
  
It was like a miniature explosion, though Harry could not see it, and was not even aware of it for that matter. Holy light pierced through the sky, turning the night into day and forcing Voldemort and his followers to back away. The light was a prayer, soft and gentle; a plea for something, anything, to help them escape capture and death. After a moment, the holy power dimmed somewhat, giving everyone present a view of an unexpected - and to a certain dark spirit, unwelcome - sight. A symbol had appeared on Harry's forehead, and it seemed to be the very source of the light...  
  
The Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness...  
  
"Stop him!" Marik no Yami shrieked.  
  
A sudden sting hit Harry's cheek, snapping him out of whatever it was that had happened to him, the light fading away along with it. He looked up, dazed, to see Voldemort standing before him, fuming in rage.  
  
"It seems I'll have to break you before destroying you," he hissed, clearly not pleased. "Wormtail, fetch his wand."  
  
Pettigrew left the circle of Death Eaters, going over to where Marik's body still lay - Harry vaguely remembered dropping his wand when he had fallen the first time. There was a long stretch of silence… before there was a bell-like tinkling, followed by Pettigrew screaming in absolute terror. Voldemort turned just in time to see him smack painfully against a nearby gravestone, nearly toppling it over. The dark spirit next to him hissed, backing away as a figure rose up from the mists, a something glowing brightly against their chest.  
  
"I don't like it when people try to kill me!"  
  
Harry raised his head, his mouth hanging open in surprise. Was it really…? Could it really be…?  
  
"And I especially don't like it," Marik continued, the Millennium Ring flaring in an expression of his anger, "when people try to kill my friends too!" 


	24. Escape

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
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[Skyla's room in the Angel Wings treehouse. Yami Yugi is attempting to light an insense cone (I don't care what anyone says, those things are a beyotch to light _). Skyla is at her computer, watching an episode of Full Metal Alchemist (Ed! ::glomps::), while the latest YGO episode downloads in the background.]  
  
Y.Yugi: [struggling to light a match.] Sky-chan, have you checked your e-mail since posting chapter twenty-three?  
  
Skyla: Crap, no.  
  
[She pauses the episode so she can go to her e-mail inbox...]  
  
*FWOOSH!*  
  
[Suddenly, Skyla is burried under a pile of e-mails, all marked "[FanFiction.net] Review Alert!" Yami Yugi panics.]  
  
Y.Yugi: Sky-chan! Sky-chan! You all right?!  
  
[Skyla's hand pokes out from the pile of e-mails, pointing up to the sky in an "Ah-HA!" manner.]  
  
Skyla: Now THIS is more like it!  
  
Y.Yugi: [sweatdrops] Review hog...  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Kitty Neko: Yes, but I'm not the other authors, now am I? ;)  
  
UsagiLovesDuochan: You're on the right track, hun. ^_^ And, I don't think Mahaado will make another appearance... I'll have to see.  
  
Telkella: This soon enough for you? XD  
  
Griff valdez: No, you can't borrow Yami Bakura. ::points to where Yami Bakura is playing PS2:: He's busy playing Kingdom Hearts for another crossover I'm working on. v_v;;  
  
Lori Kimaya: ^^;;; Right now, I'm trying to hurry up and finish this story, so I can free up my time a little bit to worry about other things I need to complete. ^^;;;;  
  
Gavroche Rule: Go get 'em, Yami Baka! X3 (Y.Bakura: Skyla... -_-;;; )  
  
MillenniumDreamer: ::gets whacked repeatedly with a burrito:: Owie...! _ Hey, I said I was going to kill someone. I never said they were going to stay dead! ^^;;  
  
Anime_Rachiru: You guessed right. ^_^  
  
Hikari no Mari: From our perspective, the Japanese read things backwards. For example, you see some writers refer to Yami Bakura as "Yami no Bakura", which translates as "Bakura of Darkness". In reference to ancient spirits like him, this is correct, but Yami Marik is not a spirit in the same respect that they are. That's why I refer to him as "Marik no Yami", or "Darkness of Marik".  
  
Mistress of Foxes: Believe me, this didn't come out as fast as I had hoped. If it weren't for work, this chapter would have been out around dinner time instead of 2:30 in the morning. _  
  
Ginger Silvertonge: ::scratches her head:: It's just a fan fic... ^^;;;;  
  
Cloud Dragon: LOL! Glad to be of service. ^_^  
  
Yami Yami Yugi: _ I don't even listen to my own mother...  
  
Mimiheart: Oops! O_o ::uses Dead Alive on her:: Hey, c'mon, don't die on me! ^_^  
  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Skyla: [brushing reviews out of her hair] Whew! I take it back; last chapter was the most reviews I've ever gotten in one shot.  
  
Y.Yugi: You're still a review hog.  
  
Skyla: Oh, put a sock in it. v_v;;  
  
Y.Yugi: Sure, as long as it's not one of yours. ;)  
  
Skyla: _  
  
Y.Yugi: Read, enjoy, and then review!  
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR - ESCAPE  
  
Harry was afraid to blink, least the image before him turned out to be a figment of his imagination. Marik was making his way toward the gathering of Death Eaters, pausing only to give Pettigrew a swift kick in the stomach, making sure he would not be getting up again any time soon. The Egyptian stopped just before the circle of Voldemort's followers; the ones closest to him were obviously unnerved by the fact that he was alive, but still managed to keep their wands pointed at him. He stood there, a slight smirk on his face, the thumb of one hand hooked into his pocket, the other hanging down, holding onto not only his wand but Harry's as well.  
  
Voldemort sneered at him. "Don't you Egyptians know when to die?"  
  
Marik just shrugged casually. "I guess no one told you we Egyptians are notorious for being reborn or revived when you least expect it," he replied, before his expression turned hard. "Now, free Harry and let us go back, and I'll let all of you live."  
  
Voldemort just let out a cold, cruel laugh. "Make sure he stays dead this time."  
  
The five wands of the Death Eaters closest to Marik started to move...  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
The green light from five of the Killing Curse being cast at once was so bright that Harry was forced to turn away. Marik had not moved an inch when they started to cast it, however. Did he have something in mind, or did they kill him again before...?  
  
Suddenly, a loud explosion ripped through the air, leaving his ears ringing. Harry turned to see if Marik was okay, only to see that he was still standing in the same spot. He was holding out the hand that had been in his pocket, fingers splayed, and the Millennium Ring was glowing brighter than ever... as well as something else. On his forehead, the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness burned proudly, and the stern expression on his face made those that had been foolish enough to attack him back up in fear.  
  
"Big mistake," Marik announced, his voice hard and unforgiving.  
  
He reached for the Millennium Ring, grabbing it around the central triangle and pulling hard enough for the strap that held it around his neck to come undone. The ring that the strap was looped around and the strap itself sparked, before transforming into a decorative topper, with the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness as the center of the design. Marik stuffed his and Harry's wands into his pocket, before grabbing the center point with that hand. The point affixed itself to the Ring, and suddenly shot out, turning the Ring into a magician's Staff.  
  
Marik held the transformed Item before him, looking like a magician of a fantasy story, the remaining four points chiming together like the tinkling of bells.  
  
"I am Marik Ishitar," he announced, "new priest of the Millennium Ring, and leader of the Ishitar Gravekeeper Clan. In my veins flows the blood of the priest Mahaado... the blood of a guardian and a mage!"  
  
With that said, Marik sent the Staff moving, weaving it through an intricate set of spins that looked as if they had taken decades for him to practice. It was moving so fast that still burning brightly Ring portion of the Staff left behind an afterglow in a complicated circular pattern.  
  
"Black Burning Magic!"  
  
Marik suddenly stopped the display, slamming the Staff onto the ground. The earth cracked and split, making a broken pattern that snaked its way to each Death Eater and Voldemort, bringing a trail of dark blazing flame along with it. Those closest to Marik got the brunt of it, their cloaks bursting into black fire as they tried vainly to put it out. The graveyard suddenly became very bright and very hot as grass and everything else that was flammable caught on fire, casting an eerie glow over everything.  
  
Harry struggled against his bonds, trying to pull himself free before the fire got to him. He could feel a great deal of heat coming from behind him, and the fires in front of him where quickly gaining in intensity; and knew it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed...  
  
"Harry-kun!"  
  
Marik suddenly broke through the flames before him; his arms held up over his face, his cloak slightly scorched from running through fire. The Millennium Ring had returned to normal, and was once again hanging around his neck, and the mark on his forehead had disappeared as well.  
  
Marik showed off a lopsided grin as he pulled a knife from his boot, starting to cut Harry's bonds. "That was a little more potent than I expected."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. "For a moment there, I thought you planned for that to happen."  
  
"Well, most of that was planned," the Egyptian admitted, cutting through the last of Harry's bonds, before reaching out a hand to help steady his friend. "You all right? How's your leg doing?"  
  
"Not too well," Harry admitted, testing his injured leg gingerly.  
  
Marik grabbed one of his arms and looped it over his shoulder, keeping him steady. Harry knew that he was going to slow the two of them down, but they both needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. The two of them had come within an inch of dying or being taken over that night. Now that they had the chance to escape, they were not about to let it go.  
  
A moment later, the two of them burst through the flames, pausing only to put out whatever fires that lingered on their clothing, before setting off as fast as they could through the graveyard. Harry held onto Marik tightly, limping along, trying desperately to keep up with the Egyptian, who was attempting to travel at a speed that did not agree with his leg.  
  
"Where are we going?" Harry asked as they passed by the Triwizard Cup, still lying on the ground.  
  
"Anywhere," Marik replied, looking behind him. "Just as long as we're far away from anything that resembles Voldemort, Death Eaters, and that damned creature."  
  
Harry could not help but ask, "A creature that was part of you?"  
  
Marik noticeably flinched. "That's something I'd rather talk about in a less hostile environment."  
  
"Such sanctuary you will never see again!"  
  
Marik and Harry came skidding to a halt. Voldemort and his Death Eaters had somehow managed to get ahead of them, though they were looking a bit worse for wear. Some of them had to abandon their cloaks, while others sported nasty burn marks. Voldemort's robes themselves had patches burned away, revealing charred skin underneath. Marik smirked at the pitiful display.  
  
"Aw, poor thing," he taunted. "Just got your body back and it's already carrying battle scars."  
  
Harry sweatdropped. "Marik," he muttered out the side of his mouth, "I don't think patronizing him is a good idea right now..."  
  
Voldemort snarled. "You're more trouble than you're worth, Harry Potter..."  
  
Voldemort raised his wand...  
  
Harry let his hand drift down toward Marik's pocket, seizing his own wand...  
  
"You have a God within you," the Dark Lord continued, "and if I cannot take that God, I'll destroy it before anyone else can!"  
  
Harry brought his arm over Marik's head...  
  
...just as Voldemort swung his wand down...  
  
"Expelliarmus!"  
  
"Avada Kedavra!"  
  
A jet of green light shot from Voldemort's wand just as a jet of red light blasted out of Harry's. The two spells met in midair... and suddenly Harry's wand was vibrating as if it had become electrified. His hand had seized up around the wood, and he could not have moved it even if he wanted to. A narrow beam of light connected the two wands together. It was neither red nor green… but a bright, deep gold. Then, to his astonishment, he felt his feet leave the ground. Both he and the Dark Lord were lifted into the air, the thread of light never breaking their wands apart. He dimly heard Marik shouting for him frantically as they glided away from the burning graveyard and came to rest on a patch of earth that was devoid of any graves.  
  
Once their feet were back on the ground, the golden light connecting the wands splintered. The two wands remained connected as thousands more beams arced high up in the air, crisscrossing all around the two of them, until they were enclosed in a golden web in the shape of a dome.  
  
Harry looked across the way to Voldemort. The Dark Lord's eyes were wide with shock, and he was fighting to break the thread of light. Harry just held on tighter, gritting his teeth in determination. He did not know what was going on, but it seemed to be working in his favor...  
  
Just then, and unearthly beautiful sound filled the air. It vibrated from the threads of the light-spun web around them, piercing through Harry's very soul. He would recognize that sound from anywhere...  
  
A phoenix song.  
  
The song seemed to soothe Harry's soul in addition to giving him strength. He reached up with his other hand and grasped his wand. The golden connection flared, seemingly becoming stronger now that he was gripping the wand with both hands.  
  
~~Don't break the connection...~~  
  
The voice of the boy sang in his head again, and while Harry could not see him this time, he could still feel him, as if he were standing right next to him.  
  
~~I know,~~ he thought to the voice. ~~I know I mustn't...~~  
  
No sooner had he thought that, however, did the wand begin to vibrate more forcefully, making the wand that much more harder to hold onto. Harry gritted his teeth, fighting to keep a hold of the wand despite the fact that it felt like it was going to shatter in his hands...  
  
Meanwhile, Marik was in a bit of a pickle. Several Death Eaters... several charred, angry Death Eaters, surrounded him. Each of them raised their wands, ready and more than willing to kill him. The Egyptian just smirked; if they wanted to kill him, they were going to have to try a different tactic. He reached around and grabbed his wand from his back pocket as the Millennium Ring flared to life again.  
  
"Stupefy!"  
  
His spell, amplified by the power of the Ring, lanced out at the Death Eaters, hitting each of them squarely in the chest. They all hit the ground, unconscious, as Marik smirked proudly.  
  
"Losers," he declared.  
  
He was about to make a break for the golden dome Harry was enclosed in, when he was force to come to a halt as a dark shadow appeared in front of him. Marik raised his wand, the Millennium Ring glowing once again. He grit his teeth, before motioning with his wand.  
  
"Get out of my way," he ordered.  
  
Marik no Yami seemed to smirk. "Hikari-pretty will escape from this," he responded. "Rest assured, though. Hikari-pretty's story is going to end badly. Oré-sama will see to that."  
  
Marik's expression became hard. "I'll not say it again," he said darkly. "I'll deal with you another time."  
  
"No," the spirit replied mockingly. "Oré-sama will be dealing with hikari-pretty."  
  
Marik was about to retort when the spirit vanished, blending away into the darkness. He growled under his breath, before heading up the hill to where Harry and Voldemort's wands were still connected. Harry, however, looked like he was in extreme pain. While he still held onto his wand with all his might, his face was scrunched up, trying desperately to focus all his power into his wand even though he was obviously having a great amount of difficulty doing so.  
  
"Harry-kun!" he shouted. "Hang in there!"  
  
"I can't!" Harry cried through clenched teeth. "I can't; he's too powerful. I'm afraid my wand's going to break!"  
  
"You can't be afraid, Harry-kun!" Marik exclaimed. "If you're afraid something bad's going to happen, then there's a good chance that it -!"  
  
The Gravekeeper was interrupted mid-encouragement speech by something hitting him in the back of the head with enough force to make stars dance before his eyes. Marik grunted and stumbled back and around, only to see Pettigrew standing behind him, flexing the new hand that Voldemort had given him.  
  
"Damn, you're still alive?" he commented idly, easily dodging another punch from him. "Pul-lease. If you're going to throw a punch at a desert man, at least pretend you know what you're doing."  
  
Marik dodged another punch and ducked under a lame attempt at a kick, before coming up and punching Pettigrew in the stomach. The rat-faced man doubled over in pain, giving the Egyptian a perfect opening to knee him in the face, effectively knocking him out again. Muttering about rude interruptions under his breath, he turned back to Harry, only to see that the young wizard had fallen to one knee, though he still desperately maintained his fragile hold on his wand.  
  
"Harry-kun!" Marik shouted. "C'mon! Get back up!"  
  
"No, Potter," Voldemort said, his thin lips quirked up in a smirk. "Stay like that. It will be easier to kill you that way."  
  
Marik flashed a rude finger in his direction. "Shut up, snake breath!"  
  
Harry spared Marik an annoyed glare, as the power from Voldemort's end of the golden line seemed to increase along with his rage.  
  
"Marik, this isn't the time to be cracking jokes!" he snapped, nearly crying from the strain.  
  
"Then stand up and fight back!" Marik encouraged. "Tall, dark, and pasty over there said you had a God within you. Use its power to bring Voldemort to HIS knees!"  
  
This time Harry looked at him like he grew another head. "How am I supposed to do THAT?!"  
  
"You have to be strong!" Marik exclaimed, clenching his fists together as if that would help Harry have courage. "Gods award the strong with Their powers. Why do you think Seto and I can summon Obelisk and Ra? Only Panseru and Yugi have the right to summon a God; it's their birthright as pharaoh. But, Seto and I can summon God, because we keep proving ourselves strong through every duel and every hardship."  
  
Harry's mouth hung open in slight surprise. Before, when Voldemort was doing whatever it was he was trying to do to him, he had acquired a bit of that strange boy's power because he had been trying to be desperately strong against the pain. Was that boy this God the two of them spoke of? And if so, just what kind of God WAS it?  
  
"Stand up, Harry-kun!"  
  
Harry grit his teeth. The time for questions would come later. Right then, the two of them had to escape from the graveyard, and the only way they were going to do that was through Voldemort. Painfully, slowly, he got back to his feet. His bad leg shook something terrible from the stress, but he stubbornly locked his knee straight, refusing to fall again. He tightened his grip on his wand, forcing it to stay pointed toward Voldemort even though it was vibrating so badly that it nearly shook out of his hands. Closing his eyes, he reached deep within himself, trying to find that power that was supposed to be a God...  
  
~~I don't know who you are...~~  
  
~~I don't know what you are...~~  
  
~~Nor do I know how to awaken you when the time comes...~~  
  
~~But... please... help me again, now...~~  
  
~~So that I may know sometime in the future...~~  
  
Marik had to back up and shield his eyes as the holy light of a God erupted from Harry once again, the phoenix song picking up in volume and intensity at the same time. The Gravekeeper grinned, silently cheering his friend on as he heard Voldemort scream in terror and surprise. That was not the only thing he heard, though; he could have sworn he heard other voices speaking inside the dome that did not sound like Harry or Voldemort, but the light was too bright for him to be sure.  
  
After a long moment, the light dimmed slightly, treating Marik to a sight that almost made him fall over in shock. Four ghosts were circling about within the dome, whispering words of encouragement to Harry while hissing angry, taunting words at Voldemort. The Dark Lord looked absolutely petrified as he watched the ghosts, his prior victims, floating about.  
  
That was not the only strange thing about what was going on. Harry was standing absolutely straight, as if his leg was not injured at all, and was holding onto his still vibrating wand as if it were nothing at all. The power shooting out from the small stick of wood seemed to have quadrupled in the past few moments, the golden thread connecting the two wands glowing brighter than ever. In addition to all that, there was something else... something on Harry's forehead...  
  
Marik took a step back in surprise. The Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness... the symbol of a Millennium Item holder... but, it was impossible! In order for the mark to be able to appear, a person had to be in PHYSICAL contact with an Item. How could... Harry... and...? The Gravekeeper shook his head; everything he knew about the Items seemed to have been tossed out to the wind at that moment leaving him utterly confused.  
  
"Marik," Harry said suddenly, snapping him out of his confusion, "get ready to run!"  
  
Marik braced himself, waiting...  
  
Then, with a might wrench upward, Harry broke the connection between the two wands. The golden thread snapped in half and vanished, taking the glowing dome along with it. The ghosts lingered, however, hovering about Voldemort and cutting him off from getting to Harry and Marik. They had not stopped to watch, however; the two of them were already running, Harry leading, toward something in the now smoldering graveyard.  
  
"Where are we going?" Marik asked, making sure to tread on a Death Eater he thought looked like Lucius Malfoy as they ran past.  
  
"To the Triwizard Cup," Harry said, the mark on his forehead providing the only really good light. "It's a Portkey. It brought us here, so it should send us back."  
  
"You hope."  
  
"I hope."  
  
The two of them ran as they had never run before in their lives, zigzagging behind and around headstones just as a curse hit the ground behind them. Voldemort had broken free of the ghosts, and was pursuing the two of them with a vengeance. Ten feet away from the Cup, however, they were forced to dive behind a giant marble angel as the Dark Lord starting flinging Stunning Spells their way. Harry and Marik exchanged looks, held up their wands and nodded, before dashing out from behind the angel...  
  
"Impedimenta!"  
  
They had not cast the spell with the intent of it actually affecting the Dark Lord, or even hitting him for that matter. It did have the effect they wanted though, as Voldemort was forced to dodge the spells, giving them a much better chance to get ahead of him. The two of them darted forward, closing in on the cup...  
  
Marik glanced back over his shoulder for a brief moment. Voldemort was raising his wand again...  
  
"Accio!" Harry yelled suddenly.  
  
Marik faced forward again. The Cup was speeding toward them because of Harry's spell. As one, they reached out a hand, grasping it by the handle...  
  
Marik and Harry heard Voldemort's scream of fury as the same moment they felt a jerk behind their navel. The Portkey had worked! It was speeding the two of them away from the smoking graveyard in a whirl of wind and color...  
  
They were going back. 


	25. One Thing Left Unfinished

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
Mergh!  
  
_  
  
This chapter was difficult because it was one of those "the bad guy reveals what was going on while the good guys were busy" kind of chapters. A lot of what is said in this chapter was excerpted from the book, and I feel really horrible for it. There was really no other way that I could think of to do this chapter, though, and still maintain the same kind of effect.  
  
Trust me, I'm going to be writing chapter twenty-six right away... as soon as I finish watching FMA #13. ^^;;  
  
Read, enjoy, and then review!  
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CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE - ONE THING LEFT UNFINISHED  
  
The wind and color suddenly vanished, and Marik felt himself slam into the ground, nearly swallowing a mouthful of grass in the process. He tilted his head up slightly, spitting out the blades of green before flopping back down on the ground again, exhausted. That was a close call if he had ever encountered one; not that he ever wanted to again. Something tightened around his arm, and he turned his head around to face Harry. The young wizard was out cold more or less, the mark on his forehead had vanished some time during the trip back, and he was unconsciously gripping the two things he was holding onto: himself and the Triwizard Cup. Marik chuckled, reaching over and mussing up Harry's already unruly hair. Harry's eyes opened blearily at the movement, looking rather dazed.  
  
"Marik?"  
  
"Yeah?"  
  
"We dead?"  
  
Marik laughed. "Nope. Not yet."  
  
Harry managed to crack a smile. "Oh. Okay."  
  
There was a gasp of surprise from somewhere over and behind them, and Marik managed to push himself up enough to look. The two boys were lying at the foot of the plinth that the Cup had been on, and Hermione was standing across the way. Her eyes, brimming with tears, were wide with shock, and her hands were over her mouth as if to prevent herself from screaming. A moment later, Yami Yugi practically plowed into her, looking slightly frantic, but she did not seem to notice.  
  
"Mar...ik?" she asked, her voice shaking.  
  
Marik smirked, raising a hand in greeting. "Yo, pharaoh, Hermio-"  
  
He did not get a chance to finish, and he suddenly got tackled into the grass. His head hit the ground with a painful SMACK, as Hermione clung to him tight enough to nearly choke off his air.  
  
"Hermione... I need to breathe...!"  
  
She loosened her grip slightly, but still clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably on his shoulder. Yami Yugi breathed a sigh of relief, before taking out his wand and sending red sparks up into the air.  
  
"You had us worried there, Marik-kun," he said, walking over to kneel by Harry and check to see if he was all right. "When Aishisu said your light went out, I thought you were..."  
  
The pharaoh trailed off, unable to say it. Marik sat up, holding onto Hermione (who was still clinging to him as if he were going to disappear); he gave him a very serious look.  
  
"I did die," he said. Hermione whimpered. "It was only for a moment, but I did die." He glanced down at Harry a moment, before continuing, "Pharaoh... we're really in over our heads this time."  
  
Yami Yugi was about to ask what he meant by that, when Dumbledore, Professor McGonagall, Hagrid, and Professor Moody arrived at the center of the maze. The headmaster instantly went to Harry's side, gently rolling him over onto his back. Harry blinked up at him blearily; it seemed as if he were barely conscious. He clutched onto Marik even tighter.  
  
"He's back..." he whispered. "He's back... Voldemort..."  
  
"Harry, it's okay," Marik replied soothingly, prying his fingers from his arm, least he cut off his circulation. "It's okay, Harry. We're back at Hogwarts. We're safe now."  
  
"What's wrong with him?" Hermione asked, peering up from his shoulder.  
  
"He's just tired," Marik answered. "After what he did tonight, I don't blame him."  
  
"I'll take Harry, Dumbledore," Moody offered. "I'll take him to the -"  
  
"No," Dumbledore cut him off, "I would prefer -"  
  
The headmaster was interrupted as well, as Cornelius Fudge arrived, demanding to know what was going on. Marik got back to his feet tiredly as the two of the bickered back and forth, suddenly feeling twice his age as Hermione helped support him. Every bone in his body seemed to hurt, and he was sweaty and grimy from jumping through fire and running through the graveyard.  
  
"Are you okay?" Hermione asked, looking up at him.  
  
He smiled gently. "I am now, Hermi-ko."  
  
She frowned, puzzled by the different word attached to her name, but she did not get a chance to ask what it meant as Yami Yugi nudged the two of them. Marik turned, worried by the concerned look on the pharaoh's face.  
  
"Didn't Dumbledore tell Moody not to take Harry?" he asked.  
  
"Yes, why?" Hermione asked.  
  
Marik turned to where Harry had been lying... only to see that he was not there. Moody was also nowhere in sight. The Gravekeeper swore under his breath. Why did he get the feeling he was being a bit premature when he said that they were safe?  
  
"Hermione, go get the others, have them meet us outside the maze," he whispered. Hermione, though confused by his request, nodded and headed off. Marik turned to Yami Yugi, who was just giving him a concerned and confused look.  
  
"Just what exactly happened in here?" the pharaoh whispered, eyeing Marik's charred cloak.  
  
"I'll explain later," the Gravekeeper replied, pulling Yami Yugi down a path, leaving the professors to bicker with the Minister of Magic.  
  
The two of them plowed through the maze, making their own path by blowing holes into the hedges. When they were about halfway out, the pharaoh looked back the way they came furtively, biting his lip.  
  
"Don't you think we should have told Dumbledore what's going on?" he asked.  
  
Marik made another hole in a hedge before answering, "This is something we've got to handle. Harry's got a God within him. If that's what Moody's after, then we need to take care of it."  
  
Yami Yugi looked at him in surprise. "A GOD?! Like a God Card? But there's only supposed to be three...!"  
  
"I know," Marik replied. "I know... but everything that's happened tonight just blew everything we knew about the Gods - and the Millennium Items - out the window."  
  
The two of them made it out of the maze just as Hermione came running up to them with the rest of the current Millennium Item holders. Both Bakuras looked tired, as if they had just held their breaths or bit their nails the whole time of the task. Seto had a scowl on his face that would have made Voldemort cringe, and his yami was trying to get him to calm down, least he murder somebody. Yugi and Draco wore worried expressions on their faces; but whether it was because of what had happened or what was going on with Harry, Marik could not tell.  
  
"What's with Seto?" he asked.  
  
Bakura sweatdropped. "Someone stunned Fleur. That was why she screamed."  
  
"And I'll kill the person who did it when I get my hands on them..." Seto growled, cracking his knuckles. Everyone sweatdropped at that, not sure how else to react.  
  
"Anyway," Yami Bakura cut in, shaking his head. "Where do you think Moody took Harry?"  
  
"Probably his office," Yami Yugi offered, before nudging Marik. "You're going to have a lot of explaining to do later."  
  
Marik sighed. "Why do I have a feeling I'm not going to have any friends left when this night is done...?"  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Harry pressed himself against the chair he was sitting in, trying to remain calm despite the fact that he could not understand or accept the situation he found himself in. He dimly remembered Moody picking him up and leading him to his office in the school, and then everything came into focus when the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor gave him some kind of potion. After that, however, Moody started ranting, claiming to be a Death Eater in Voldemort's service... but that was impossible! Professor Moody was an Auror and a good friend of Dumbledore's. He could not be... he just could not...!  
  
Moody had both eyes trained on him in an insane gaze. The door to the room was locked and barred; and there was no way that Harry could get to his wand or call on that power from before to defend himself.  
  
He was stuck.  
  
"The Dark Lord and I," Moody continued, towering menacingly over Harry, "have much in common. Both of us, for instance, had very disappointing fathers... very disappointing indeed. Both of us have suffered the indignity, Harry, of being named after those fathers. And both of us had the pleasure, the very great pleasure, of killing our fathers to ensure the continued rise of the Dark Order!"  
  
"You're crazy!" Harry exclaimed before he could stop himself. "You're absolutely mad!"  
  
"Mad, am I?" Moody asked, his voice rising. "We'll see! We'll see who's mad, now that the Dark Lord has returned, with me at his side! He is back, Harry Potter, you did not conquer him... and now... I will conquer you!"  
  
Moody raised his wand... Harry dove a hand in his robes, trying to get to his wand...  
  
"STUPEFY!"  
  
There was a blinding flash of red light, accompanied by a loud splintering and crashing sound. The door of Moody's office was blasted apart, and Moody himself was thrown backward onto the office floor. Harry stared up where he had been, breathing hard in shock, before having the courage to turn around and peer over the back of the chair he sat in. Nine bodies stood nearly crushed together in the doorway; nine wands were still outstretched, still glowing slightly from the aftereffect of the Stunning Spell.  
  
Yami Yugi was standing before everyone else, and it was at that moment, Harry understood what it must have meant to cross a pharaoh in ancient times. The look on the spirit's face as he walked over and stood above Moody's unconscious body was more terrible than anything the young wizard had ever seen. There was no casual or confident smile on his face, no amused glint in his eyes... nothing but a cold fury that seemed to radiate a power Harry had never even dreamed of.  
  
The pharaoh placed a foot under Moody and kicked him over so he was lying on his back, as Yugi and the others rushed into the small office.  
  
"You all right, Harry-kun?" Marik asked, putting a hand on his shoulder. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"  
  
"No," Harry answered, shaking his head. "No, you guys came just in time."  
  
No sooner had he said that, then Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape appeared in the doorway. The headmaster breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Moody unconscious on the floor, as Marik rubbed the back of his neck.  
  
"Sorry we didn't tell you, professor," he apologized. "We just wanted to get to Harry before something bad happened."  
  
Dumbledore nodded, relieved. "A wise choice, Mr. Ishitar."  
  
Yami Bakura, meanwhile, had walked over to where Yami Yugi was standing over Moody's body. He frowned down at him, kicking him slightly.  
  
"This isn't Moody, is it?" he asked.  
  
"No," Dumbledore replied. "You have never known Alastor Moody. The real Moody would not have removed Harry from my sight after what happened tonight."  
  
"So... who is he?" Bakura asked, confused.  
  
Dumbledore went over where Moody was and bent down, slipping a hand inside his robes. He pulled out a hip flask and a set of keys on a ring. The headmaster opened up the flask and peered inside, before handing it up to Yami Yugi. He sniffed at it.  
  
"Polyjuice Potion," he explained to the others, scrunching up his face in disgust. "I'll never forget that smell."  
  
Dumbledore stood up, dusting off his robes a bit. "Severus, please fetch me the strongest Truth Potion you possess -"  
  
"Um... professor..."  
  
All eyes turned toward Seto, who looked uncharacteristically nervous. He fidgeted slightly where he stood, looking more like his yami than himself, before he continued.  
  
"Instead of a Truth Potion..." he began. "I could use the Millennium Rod. It might even be more effective."  
  
Yami Seto started at his other half like he grew another head. "Hikari...!"  
  
Dumbledore, however, was giving him a measured glance. "Are you sure, Mr. Kaiba?"  
  
Seto chewed a bit on his lower lip, looking the headmaster in the eyes. "It's okay. My other self has been showing me how to use the Rod since he started getting his own body. I feel confident that I can do this."  
  
Worried looks were exchanged among the Millennium Item owners; Snape was giving Seto a dirty look and McGonagall looked slightly appalled. Dumbledore, however, held the young businessman's gaze, as if silently gauging his ability to use the Item. After a long moment, he nodded, before turning to where the fake Moody was still lying on the floor. With a gesture from his wand, thick cords shot out, wrapping themselves around the man.  
  
"First, however," Dumbledore said. "We wait to see who he really is."  
  
Minutes passed by in silence, before the face of the man that posed as Moody began to change. Scars disappeared, smoothing out into healthy, youthful skin. The mane of grizzled hair shortened, becoming the color of straw. With a loud clunk, the wooden leg fell away as a normal leg re-grew in its place. A moment later, the magical eye also fell out, rolling away on the floor, swiveling about on its own.  
  
Harry had rarely seen Professor Snape shocked. This was one of those times.  
  
"Crouch!" the Potion's Master exclaimed. "Barty Crouch!"  
  
"But..." Hermione began. "That's not Mr. Crouch..."  
  
"No," Draco agreed. "That's his son."  
  
Dumbledore gave Seto a look, as if to ask if he was ready. He nodded, trading his wand for the Millennium Rod and standing before the son of Mr. Crouch. The headmaster pointed his wand at the man's chest and said, "Ennervate."  
  
Barty Crouch's eyes snapped open immediately. He glared up at Seto and Dumbledore, before trying to lunge at the two of them despite his bonds. Seto was already ahead of him, though. The Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness on the Millennium Rod glowed, instantly capturing Crouch's mind with its power. Seto closed his eyes, as if he were searching through the man's memories. His eyes snapped open suddenly, a shock and outright disgusted look on his face.  
  
"You... you disgusting... monster..." he murmured. He grit his teeth, his expression becoming cold and cruel as he pointed the Rod at Crouch. "I command you! Tell us how you escaped from Azkaban."  
  
Crouch opened his mouth to speak, his voice as expressionless as the look in his eyes.  
  
"My mother saved me. She knew she was dying. She persuaded my father to rescue me. He agreed. They came to visit me. They gave me a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my mother's hairs. She took a draught of Polyjuice Potion containing one of my hairs. We took on each other's appearance.  
  
"The dementors are blind. They sensed one healthy, one dying person entering Azkaban. They sensed one healthy, one dying person leaving it. My father smuggled me out, disguised as my mother, in case any prisoners were watching through their doors.  
  
"My mother died a short while afterward in Azkaban. She was careful to drink Polyjuice Potion until the end. She was buried under my name and bearing my appearance. Everyone believed her to be me."  
  
Seto grit his teeth. Harry had never seen him so mad before, and if the looks on Yugi's and the others' faces where any indication, neither had they.  
  
"Tell us what your father did with you," he commanded.  
  
"Staged my mother's death," Crouch responded. "A quiet, private funeral. That grave is empty. Our house elf nursed me back to health. Then I had to be concealed. I had to be controlled. My father had to use a number of spells to subdue me. When I had recovered my strength, I thought only of finding my master... of returning to his service."  
  
"Tell us how he subdued you," Seto ordered.  
  
"The Imperius Curse," he replied. "I was under my father's control. I was forced to wear an Invisibility Cloak day and night. I was always with the house elf. She was my keeper and caretaker. She pitied me. She persuaded my father to give me occasional treats. Rewards for my good behavior."  
  
"One of these rewards was the Quidditch Cup, correct?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Tell us what happened there," Seto commanded once again.  
  
"The house elf talked my father into it," Crouch explained. "She spent months persuading him. I had no left the house for years. I had loved Quidditch. Let him go, she said. He will be in his Invisibility Cloak. He can watch. Let him smell fresh air for once. She said my mother would have wanted it. She told my father that my mother had died to give me freedom. She had not saved me for a life of imprisonment. He agreed in the end.  
  
"It was carefully planned. My father led me and the house elf up to the Top Box early in the day. She was to say that she was say that she was saving a seat for my father. I was to sit there, invisible. When everyone had left the box, we would emerge. The house elf would appear to be along. Nobody would ever know.  
  
"But she didn't know that I was growing stronger. I was starting to fight my father's Imperius Curse. There were times when I was almost myself again. There were brief periods when I seemed outside his control. It happened, there, in the Top Box. It was like waking from a deep sleep. I found myself out in public, in the middle of the match, and I saw, in front of me, a wand sticking out of a boy's pocket. I had not been allowed a wand since before Azkaban. I stole it. The house elf didn't know. She is frightened of heights. She had her face hidden."  
  
"That was my wand..." Harry protested quietly.  
  
Seto looked to him briefly, before turning his focus back to Crouch. "Tell us what you did with that wand."  
  
"We went back to the tent," Crouch said. "Then we heard them. We heard the Death Eaters. The ones who had never been to Azkaban. The ones who had never suffered for my master. They had turned their backs on him. They were not enslaved, as I was. They were free to seek him, but they did no. They were merely making sport of Muggles. The sound of their voices awoke me. My mind was clearer than it had been in years. I was angry. I had the wand. I wanted to attack them for their disloyalty to my master. My father had left the tent; he had gone to free the Muggles. The house elf was afraid to see me so angry. She used her own brand of magic to bind me to her. She pulled me from the tent, pulled me into the forest, away from the Death Eaters. I tried to hold her back. I wanted to return to the campsite. I wanted to show those Death Eaters what loyalty to the Dark Lord meant, and to punish them for their lack of it. I used the stolen wand to cast the Dark Mark into the sky.  
  
"Ministry wizards arrived. They shot Stunning Spells everywhere. One of the spells came through the trees where we stood. The bond connecting us was broken. We were both stunned.  
  
"When the house elf was discovered, my father knew I must be nearby. He searched the bushes where she had been found and felt me lying there. He put me back under the Imperius Curse and took me home. He dismissed the house elf. She had failed him. She had let me acquire a wand. She had almost let me escape.  
  
"Now it was just Father and I, alone in the house. And then... and then...!"  
  
Barty Crouch's head rolled on his neck, allowing him to flash an insane grin.  
  
"My master came for me! He arrived at our house late one night in the arms of his servant Wormtail, and accompanied by a faceless spirit. My master had found out I was still alive."  
  
Seto was practically shaking in his rage as he gripped the Millennium Rod tighter. Yami Seto, misinterpreting his reactions, reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"Hikari, let me take over," he offered.  
  
Seto took a calming breath, before answering, "No, I'm fine. It's just... I've never encountered a more disgusting human in my life." He turned his attention back to Crouch. "Tell us how you were first discovered to be alive."  
  
"Bertha Jorkins came to the house one day with papers for my father's signature," Crouch replied. "He was not home. The house elf had showed her inside and returned to the kitchen, to me. But Bertha Jorkins heard her talking to me. She came to investigate. She heard enough to guess who was hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. My father arrived home. She confronted him. He put a very powerful Memory Charm on her to make her forget what she'd found out. Too powerful. He said it damaged her memory permanently.  
  
"My master had captured Bertha Jorkins in Albania. He had tortured her. She told him a great deal. She told him about the Triwizard Tournament. She told him the old Auror, Moody, was going to teach at Hogwarts. He tortured her until he broke through the Memory Charm my father had placed upon her. She told him I had escaped from Azkaban. She told him my father kept me imprisoned to prevent me from seeking my master. And so my master knew that I was still his faithful servant… perhaps the most faithful of all. My master conceived a plan, based upon the information Bertha had given him. He needed me. He arrived at our house near midnight. My father answered the door."  
  
The grin spread wider over Crouch's face, as if he were recalling the sweetest memory of his life. Everyone else in the room was deathly quiet, either too afraid or too appalled to speak.  
  
"It was very quick. My master placed my father under the Imperius Curse. Now my father was the one imprisoned, controlled. My master forced him to go about his business as usual, to act as though nothing was wrong. And I was released. I awoke. I was myself again, alive as I hadn't been in years."  
  
Seto pursed his lips together, knowing what was coming. "Tell us what Voldemort had you do."  
  
"He asked me whether I was ready to risk everything for him. I was ready. It was my dream, my greatest ambition, to serve him, to prove myself to him. He told me he needed to place a faithful servant at Hogwarts. A servant who would guide Harry Potter through the Triwizard Tournament without appearing to do so. A servant who would watch over Harry Potter. Ensure he reached the Triwizard Cup. Turn the cup into a Portkey, which would take the first person to touch it to my master."  
  
Harry and Marik exchanged tired expressions.  
  
"Tell us what became of your father," Seto ordered, missing their expressions.  
  
"After a while," Crouch began, "he began to fight the Imperius Curse just as I had done. There were periods when he knew what was happening. My master decided it was no longer safe for my father to leave the house. He forced him to send letters to the Ministry instead. He made him write and say he was ill. But Wormtail neglected his duty. He was not watchful enough. My father escaped. My master guessed that he was heading for Hogwarts. My father was going to tell Dumbledore everything, to confess. He was going to admit that he had smuggled me from Azkaban.  
  
"The faceless spirit pursued my father, but when it reached my father, it couldn't capture him. It couldn't enter the school grounds. The spirit sent me an image of where he was. Krum and Ishitar were already there. I waited. I stunned Krum and Ishitar. I killed my father."  
  
Seto swallowed painfully. "You killed your father..." he murmured, before shaking his head. "Tell us what you did with the body."  
  
"Carried it into the forest. When I was out of sight, I Transfigured my father's body. He became a bone... and I buried it, wrapped in the Invisibility Cloak, deep in the woods."  
  
The silence in the room was absolutely deafening.  
  
Then, Seto ordered, "Tell us about tonight."  
  
"I offered to carry the Triwizard Cup into the maze before dinner," Barty Crouch whispered, as if telling a big secret. "Turned it into a Portkey. My master's plan worked. He is returned to power and I will be honored by him beyond the dreams of wizards."  
  
The insane smile lit Crouch's features for a brief moment more, before Seto lowered the Millennium Rod, and the Death Eater slumped forward, exhausted from having his mind invaded in such a manner. Seto just backed away from the foul man, his face scrunched up as if he had a horrid taste in his mouth. Crouch had no sympathy for anyone, no regret for what he had done... in fact, he had been proud of killing his father.  
  
He dimly felt Yami Seto's hand on his shoulder again. All Seto could think of was, whatever happened to Crouch after this ordeal was over, it would be far too good for him. 


	26. Parting of the Ways

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
(Hikari no Mari, forgive me for borrowing your 'yami' for this little pre-chapter skit.)  
  
[Skyla's room in the Angel Wings treehouse; Skyla is looking over several documents on her computer, occasionally picking from a plate of french fries next to her. Yami Yugi is streched out on her bed, watching newest version of The Mummy.]  
  
Skyla: Don't you ever get tired of watching that?  
  
Y.Yugi: No. I like pointing out what they got wrong. ^_^  
  
Skyla: -_-  
  
[Suddenly an evil cackle is heard, and Mari -- a yami -- goes running past the open door, clutching the Millennium Rod.]  
  
Skyla: Uh... how did a reviewer's yami get up here?  
  
Y.Yugi: Do I look like I'm in charge of security?  
  
[Seto soon runs by the door, shaking an angry fist.]  
  
Seto: Give that back!!!  
  
Skyla AND Y.Yugi: -_-;  
  
[Yami-neko runs past the door as well, trying to bite Seto's heals. Out of Skyla and Yami Yugi's view, Seto suddenly yelps.]  
  
Seto: Damn cat!  
  
Skyla AND Y.Yugi: -_-;;;;;;  
  
Skyla: ANYway... here's chapter twenty-six, finally. This is the second to last chapter of Dawn of Fate. There's also a little FMA plug in here. ^^;; I couldn't resist.  
  
Y.Yugi: As always, read, enjoy, and then review.  
  
[Mari, Seto, and Yami-neko go running by the door again.]  
  
Seto: Give me back my Rod!  
  
Skyla: _ I'm not touching that one...  
  
Y.Yugi: -_-;;;  
.  
.  
.  
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX - PARTING OF THE WAYS  
  
Marik yawned tiredly, stretching his arms high above his head. After finding the real Mad-Eye Moody in an enchanted trunk in the office, Dumbledore had escorted the Egyptian and Harry up to his office. There, they met up with Sirius, who had been brought up prior by Professor McGonagall (who thought she was escorting some kind of very friendly dog). In the office, the two of them had to recount everything that they had witnessed in the graveyard, with Marik filling in for things that Harry did not know, and vice versa. Afterward, they were escorted to the hospital wing, where everyone was waiting for them. Harry had taken a potion that would give him a dreamless sleep, but Marik had refused to do the same, preferring to sit up with the others in the infirmary and making sure Harry was not disturbed.  
  
"I didn't need it," Marik explained to Mrs. Weasley, scratching Sirius (who had turned back into a dog) behind the ears. "Nothing I saw tonight was enough to give me nightmares."  
  
"You sure?" Yami Bakura asked, raising a critical eyebrow. "Seeing that bastard again would be enough to give ME nightmares."   
  
Isis stared down at her hands folded on her lap. "So... it has returned. And it tried to take over your friend..."  
  
Marik nodded, as Sirius went over and rested his head on her lap. Isis smiled softly, petting him on the head as her brother continued, "It seems like he doesn't want to try taking me over again. Probably because he wants to kill me for sending him to the Shadow Realm in the first place."  
  
"Um... excuse me, but," Bill Weasley began, "what's this 'he' and 'it' you're talking about?"  
  
Marik scrunched his face up, trying to think of the best way to begin. Finally he stood up, shaking off his school robes, before reaching for the collar of his purple hoody and pulling it off as well. He turned so that his back was facing everyone; he heard Hermione and Mrs. Weasley gasp in surprise. The only people in the room who did not react were Yami Yugi, Yugi, Jonouchi, and Seto...  
  
They had been there when he first revealed the knife-inflicted tattoo on his back.  
  
"This is the curse of being born as the future heir of the Ishitar Gravekeeper Clan," Marik explained solemnly. "It was our duty to - when the pharaoh was reborn and found - point him in the right direction, so that he could regain his memories. These scars describe how it had to be done. They were carved onto the back of every leader of my Clan since it all began five thousand years ago, so we could never forget."  
  
Marik turned back around, slipping his shirt back on. He was quiet for a long moment before he was able to continue.  
  
"I was ten," he said softly. "I was bound to a stone slab, a gag in my mouth, while my own father used a heated knife to carve the symbols on my back."  
  
Hermione had a hand over her mouth, horrified. "But... but, you could have DIED," she said. "Didn't your father CARE?"  
  
Marik smiled bitterly. "Oh, he cared. If I had died, then it would have been proof that I was unfit to be Clan Leader."  
  
Hermione could only stare, too stunned to speak. Isis gave her a soft smile.  
  
"We, the younger generation, knew that there had to be other things out there other than our underground life," she explained. "But the elders would hear nothing of it. Our duty was to our pharaoh and our pharaoh alone, as it had been for five thousand years."  
  
Hermione shot Yami Yugi an accusing glare. "How could you have approved of this?!"  
  
The pharaoh did not meet her gaze. "I didn't, and I still don't," he replied, "but there was nothing I could have done. By the time this tradition was established, I was already dead."  
  
"You still did not answer my question," Bill began as Hermione looked away, lost in her own thoughts. "Whom where you speaking of before?"  
  
Marik took a deep breath, knowing he was not going to like the direction the conversation would end up turning toward.  
  
"Darkness, itself," he replied. "After or during the ceremony... I don't know when, but sometime around when I received the scars on my back, did my hatred and my rage for having to endure such pain because of a person I never met and probably would have never met in my lifetime consolidate itself into a separate spirit. You see, we knew that the spirit of the pharaoh was locked inside the Millennium Puzzle, but no man in five thousand years had been able to find and solve the Puzzle. That spirit was created from my misguided hatred, and became more distinct when..."  
  
Marik trailed off, at a loss for how to continue. Isis put a hand on his shoulder, offering to continue for him. He gave her a grateful smile.  
  
"Marik had always wanted to see the world outside the underground community we lived in, even though it was expressly forbidden," she began. "So, our guardian, Rishid, offered to cover for us while we explored the world above. Our father found out, however, and when we came back, we found Rishid being tortured to near death. That was when IT first appeared under it's own power. Marik no Yami... Darkness of Marik. It took up the Millennium Rod, one of the two Items our Clan was guarding... and killed our father."  
  
"So..." Draco began. "This 'Yami Marik' is like Panseru and the others then?"  
  
"No, far from it," Yami Seto answered. "We existed as real people in the past. Marik's Darkness was - is - just that; Darkness incarnate."  
  
"I guess..." Marik said softly. "You could consider him a representation of a person's negative emotions. I think that's why he doesn't have a face or a definite shape right now. Because I abandoned him by sending him to the Shadow Realm, he is no longer tied to me."  
  
Jonouchi started to say something in Japanese. Yugi listened to what he was saying, waiting till he was finished before translating for everyone who could not understand the language.  
  
"Jonouchi-kun said that it had been bad enough the first time we had had to deal with the Darkness of Marik," he said. "He can't imagine what it would be like this time."  
  
"Died once," Jonouchi said in broken English, shaking his head. "Don't want die again."  
  
Seto gave the blonde a tired, critical look. "You forgot everything you learned in high school once that diploma was in your hand, didn't you?"  
  
Jonouchi shot back at him with something that sounded quite rude, as Sugoroku attempted to prevent the blonde from jumping on the young businessman. Seto just smirked.  
  
"Baka koinu."  
  
Jonouchi sweatdropped and made a sound that seemed to be a very good impression of a dog whimper, as the sounds of shouting outside the hospital wing reached their ears. Everyone quieted down, looking toward the doors as the shouts got louder and more distinct. Marik looked over to Harry, who flinched in his sleep at the noise.  
  
"They'll wake him if they don't shut up," he hissed.  
  
"What are they shouting about?" Yugi asked, standing up so he could get a better view of the infirmary doors. "Nothing else could have gone wrong tonight, could it?"  
  
The shouting became more distinct as the owners of the voices drew nearer. Mrs. Weasley stood up as well, frowning.  
  
"That's Fudge's voice," she whispered. "And that's Minerva McGonagall's, isn't it? What are they arguing about?"  
  
"I have a feeling we're about to find out," Yami Yugi muttered.  
  
Just after he finished saying that, the hospital doors burst open, revealing an angry Cornelius Fudge with an even angrier Professor Snape and an outright ENRAGED Professor McGonagall hot on his heels.  
  
"Where's Dumbledore?" Fudge demanded.  
  
"He's not here," Sugoroku replied, standing up and giving Fudge a hard look. "This is a hospital wing, sir. Don't you think you should show -"  
  
The doors opened again, however, and Dumbledore came into the ward. He looked far from pleased as he glared from Fudge to McGonagall to Snape.  
  
"What has happened?" the headmaster demanded. "Why are you disturbing these people? Minerva, I'm surprised at you. I asked you to stand guard over Barty Crouch..."  
  
McGonagall was about to reply, but Snape cut her off, least she do or say something drastic. It was the first time any of them in that room had ever seen the Transfiguration professor loose her control in such a manner. Angry blotches of color stained her cheeks, and her hands were balled up and shaking in rage.  
  
"There's no need to do that anymore," Snape explained for her, giving Fudge a bitter look. "When we told Mr. Fudge we caught the Death Eater responsible for tonight's events, he seemed to feel his personal safety was in question. He insisted on summoning a dementor to accompany him in meeting Barty Crouch. The dementor took one look at him and..."  
  
Snape snapped his fingers for emphasis as Yami Bakura gave the Minister a horrified look. There was no need for the Potion's Master to describe what had happened any more than he did. Crouch was worse than dead; the dementor had Kissed him, sucking his soul out through his mouth. The tomb robber stood up angrily.  
  
"How could you have let it do that?" he accused. "Especially after Kaiba got that confession out of him!"  
  
"He is no loss!" Fudge blustered, giving the tomb robber a scathing glare. "It's obvious he was responsible for several murders."  
  
"Yes, and thanks to you, now we have no proof!" Seto snarled, looking like he was about ready to rip the Minister to shreds.  
  
"Do we even NEED proof?" Fudge replied, seriously offended that children were arguing with him. "He was a raving lunatic! From what I'm told, he seems to have thought he was doing it all on You-Know-Who's instructions!"  
  
"Lord Voldemort WAS giving him instructions, Cornelius," Dumbledore responded, his voice and expression hard as ice. "Those people's deaths were mere by-products of a plan to restore Voldemort to full strength. The plan succeeded; Voldemort returned tonight."  
  
Fudge looked like someone had just hit him in the face. "You-Know-Who... returned?" he stuttered. "Preposterous! Dumbledore..."  
  
"As Minerva and Severus have doubtlessly told you," the headmaster cut him off, "we heard Barty Crouch confess. He told us of how he escaped from Azkaban, and how Voldemort discovered him and used him to capture Harry. The plan worked, I tell you, Crouch has helped Voldemort return."  
  
A curious smile made it's way onto Fudge's face. "And... you're prepared to take the word of a madman and a boy who, well..."  
  
Marik stared at the Minister, shocked and enraged all at once. He stalked up to him, grabbing him by his dress shirt and pulling him down to his eyelevel, despite his sister's protests.  
  
Gritting his teeth, he snarled, "Are you insinuating that Harry's a liar? Or maybe just crazy?"  
  
Fudge reddened as he attempted to push the Gravekeeper off, his unusual smile turning into a defiant and obstinate look.  
  
"He's a Parselmouth, and has funny turns all over the place," the Minister replied stubbornly. "Headaches. Nightmares. Hallucinations. I don't need to say if he's a liar or crazy; he proves it all on his own."  
  
The only warning Fudge had was a brief growl of rage from the Gravekeeper. In the next instant, he was sprawled out on the ground, a deepening red mark on his face from where Marik had slugged him. Isis stood up from her seat, yelling at her brother in Egyptian. He turned to her, responding with a brief, harsh word, before focusing his attention back on the Minister.  
  
"Bakayarou!" he snapped. "You forget, I was there in that graveyard tonight as well. Harry may be unique in ways that disagree with you, but if it weren't for him, you'd be sending me back to Japan in a pine box!"  
  
Fudge scowled at the Egyptian as he got back to his feet, clearly not pleased. He was about to retort, when someone else cut him off.  
  
"You've been reading Rita Skeeter, haven't you, Mr. Fudge?"  
  
Everyone turned in surprise to see that Harry was very much awake. He was sitting up in bed, his glasses on, and giving the Minister an accusing glare. Fudge sputtered slightly.  
  
"And what if I have?" he demanded. "It doesn't matter. You and your friends were full of a crazy story last year as well. Now you say the Dark Lord has returned? No one, not one person, will ever believe you."  
  
Snape stalked toward Fudge, a look on his face that he rarely showed, even when he was being particularly murderous with homework. He pulled up the left sleeve of his robe, sticking out his forearm for the Minister to see. Fudge recoiled as everyone else strained to get a look. Glaring black on his arm was a symbol of a skull, with a snake for a tongue...  
  
The Dark Mark.  
  
"You see it, you fool?" Snape demanded in a low voice. "There. The Dark Mark. It is not as clear as it was an hour or so ago, when it burned black, but you can still see it. Every Death Eater had the sign burned into him by the Dark Lord. It was a means of distinguishing on another, and his means of summoning us to him. When he touched the Mark of any Death Eater, we were to Disapparate, and Apparate, instantly, at his side. This Mark has been growing clearer all year. Karkaroff's too. Why do you think Karkaroff fled tonight? We both felt the Mark burn. We both knew he had returned. Karkaroff fears the Dark Lord's vengeance. He betrayed too many of his fellow Death Eaters to be sure of a welcome back into the fold."  
  
Snape pulled down his sleeve again with an angry tug as Fudge stepped back, shaking his head. It seemed as if he had not taken in a word the Potion's Master had said. Draco stood up, walking over to Snape's side; the expression on his face a good imitation of the professor's.  
  
"Malfoy, Macnair, Avery, Nott, Crabbe, Goyle - all Death Eaters that were supposedly 'cleared' of their crimes years ago," he snapped. "I'll bet my wand that every single one of them and more were at that graveyard tonight, and I'll also bet that they're already planning for how to break the others out of Azkaban. The dementors will let Voldemort; he was their old master, and would willingly hand over all those in the wizard prison in order to return to their old life!"  
  
Fudge looked between Snape and Draco, and mix of fury and horror marking his face. After a long moment, he turned to Dumbledore, his expression becoming unreadable.  
  
"I don't know what you, your staff, and your students are playing at, Dumbledore," he accused, "but I have heard enough. I will be in touch with you tomorrow, to discuss the running of this school. I must return to the Ministry."  
  
He was about to leave, when he turned back to Marik and Harry. Taking two large bags of gold out of his pocket, he shoved them both into Marik's hands.  
  
"Your winnings," he said shortly. "One thousand Galleons each. Normally because of the tie, there would have been a duel to determine the winner, but under the circumstances..."  
  
Fudge crammed his bowler hat onto his head before walking out of the room, slamming the door behind him. A long stretch of silence followed, with no one willing to say anything. Yami Bakura was the first to speak; he turned toward Snape, a lopsided grin on his face.  
  
"I knew you were a Death Eater," he said confidently.  
  
Snape raised an eyebrow. "Oh...?"  
  
"Yup. You had to be," the tomb robber replied, before his expression turned sour. "That last homework assignment you gave Ryou was pure evil."  
  
Bakura sweatdropped as the Potion's Master gave the two of them a bland look.  
  
"As much as I would love," Dumbledore cut in before anyone could say anything, "for the jokes to continue, there is work to be done." He turned to Mrs. Weasley. "Molly... am I right in assuming I can count on you and Arthur?"  
  
"Of course, Dumbledore," she replied. "We know how Fudge is."  
  
Seto raised an eyebrow. "Stubborn as all hell?" he suggested.  
  
Yami Yugi smirked. "Too worried about his own position to care much for anything else?"  
  
Yami Seto grinned, before looking to his hikari while pointing at the pharaoh. "I like that one better."  
  
Seto just rolled his eyes before saying, "He was right about one thing. Now that our proof is nothing more than a walking human shell, no one is going to believe a word we say."  
  
Suddenly, a loud clanging sound came from somewhere inside Seto's robes. Everyone gave the young businessman a bewildered look as he flushed bright red. Reaching into his robes, he pulled out his laptop, which was dangling from a harness looped over his shoulder. Marik sweatdropped, raising a critical eyebrow.  
  
"You've been carrying him around all night?" he asked.  
  
Seto looked rather sheepish while Yami Seto was in near tears from laughing. "He wanted to see the final task," he protested, before flipping up the laptop monitor.  
  
Noah was on the computer screen, as expected. He was holding a cooking pan in each hand, as if he had been banging them together. Dropping them, he gave Seto a "what took you so long?" glare, as Bill got close to the computer screen, marveling at it.  
  
"Wow..." he muttered, poking at the screen. "How did you get him so small?"  
  
Seto sweatdropped as Noah shook an angry fist up at him.  
  
"Who are you calling a string bean that you can hardly see?!" Noah shouted. Bill backed up in surprise, nearly tripping over Harry's bed in the process.  
  
"I didn't say that much!" he protested. Seto raised a confused eyebrow, caught off guard by the very "un-Noah-ish" response, before turning a glare toward his other half.  
  
"Mou hitori no boku... what ELSE have you been downloading on this computer?" he demanded. Yami Seto just smiled nervously.  
  
"Oh... nothing much..." he replied. "Just an anime episode or two... or three... or thirty..."  
  
Seto's eyebrow twitched, before he lunged for his yami, knocking the computer off his lap. Draco dived for it and caught it just before it hit the ground, as the two high priests disappeared in a dust cloud. Everyone sweatdropped as the two of them fought, oblivious to their reactions. Sugoroku rubbed his forehead.  
  
"I thought those two were supposed to be the serious and mature ones out of your friends, Yugi," he muttered.  
  
Yugi just shook his head. "Normally, yes. But when someone messes with Seto-kun's property, all hell breaks loose."  
  
Meanwhile, on the computer screen, Noah was shaking his head sadly; muttering something along the lines of, "Grow up, otouto." Draco turned the computer around so that the screen was facing him.  
  
"Noah, did you want to show us something?" he asked.  
  
"Hai, Draco-kun!" Noah exclaimed.  
  
He reached over and grabbed the edge of his window, pulling it back as if he were using the mouse to resize it. Leaning over the window slightly, he reached a finger out to the desktop, touching an icon on it with a finger. Winamp loaded in response, and suddenly all sound - and fighting - in the room stopped as Crouch's interrogation came in over the laptop speakers. After a moment, Noah turned it off, smiling proudly.  
  
"I heard you guys talking from inside otouto's cloak," he explained. "For once I'm glad he didn't turn the computer off."  
  
Dumbledore walked over to the two of them, taking the computer in his hands so that he could look at Noah.  
  
"My friend, I do believe you've made our lives a little easier," he said.  
  
Noah grinned, holding up his fingers in a peace gesture. Dumbledore smiled gently, before looking over to Seto, who was on the floor on top of his other self.  
  
"Mr. Kaiba, may I borrow your older brother?" he asked.  
  
"Uh... hai," Seto said, standing up (making sure to shove his other's face into the floor a little).  
  
Dumbledore turned his attention back to Mrs. Weasley. "I will need to send a message to Arthur," he said. "All those that we can persuade of the truth must be notified immediately, and he is well placed to contact those at the Ministry who are not as shortsighted as Cornelius."  
  
"I'll go to Dad," Bill offered. "I'll go right now."  
  
"Excellent," Dumbledore replied, nodding. "Tell him what has happened, and that I will be in direct contact with him shortly. He will need to be discreet, however..."  
  
"Leave it to me," Bill assured him. He kissed his mother on the cheek, winked at Isis (who blushed slightly), before swinging on his cloak and leaving the room. Marik gave his back a dirty look, before turning to his older sister.  
  
"Onee-san..." he began. "What was that about...?"  
  
"I haven't an idea," she replied, frowning at the expression on his face.  
  
"Minerva," Dumbledore continued, turning to Professor McGonagall, "I want to see Hagrid in my office as soon as possible. Also, if she will consent to come, Madame Maxime."  
  
Seto looked like he was about to jump out of his skin. He swore in Japanese, before saying, "Um, professor, may I...?"  
  
Dumbledore smiled slightly. "Miss Delacour, last I heard, was at the Beauxbatons' carriage with her family."  
  
Seto bowed in thanks, before following Professor McGonagall out the door, ignoring Jonouchi's sniggering. After they left, Dumbledore made sure that the door was closed, before turning back to the congregation of students, spirits, relatives... and one dog.  
  
"Now," he began, "it is time for two of our number to recognize each other for what they are. Sirius, if you could resume your usual form."  
  
The black dog looked up at him, seemingly in surprise, before instantly turning back into a man. Mrs. Weasley shrieked in surprise, and Yami Seto and Draco tried to calm her down as Snape glared at Sirius with fury in his eyes.  
  
"Severus," Dumbledore began warningly before the Potion's Master could act, "I trust you both. It is time for you to lay aside your old differences and trust each other."  
  
The two adults were looking at each other with nothing but the utmost loathing.  
  
"You're asking for a miracle, professor," Bakura mumbled, voicing what was on everyone's minds.  
  
Dumbledore sighed tiredly. "I will settle, in the short term, for a lack of open hostility. You will shake hands. You're on the same side now. Time is short, and we've already used precious amounts of it. Unless the few of use who know the truth stand united, there is no hope for any of us."  
  
Very slowly, still glaring at one another, Sirius and Snape shook hands. They parted VERY quickly however, getting another sigh out of the headmaster.  
  
"I suppose that will do for now," he said, as if he were talking to children rather than full-grown adults. He stood between the two of them; least they decided that they would rather be openly hostile with one another. "Now, I have work for each of you. Sirius, I need you to set off at once. Alert Remus Lupin, Arabella Figg, Mundungus Fletcher - the old crowd. Stay a Lupin's for a while; I will contact you there."  
  
"But...!" Harry protested, reaching out a hand for Sirius to convey what he wanted. They had been in such close contact for such a short while; he did not want him to leave again right away. Sirius smiled slightly, kneeling down by his bed and resting a hand on his head.  
  
"You'll see me again soon, Harry," he promised. "But, in the meantime, I have to do what I can. You understand."  
  
Harry nodded. No matter how much he did not like it, he knew that it could not be helped. Sirius mussed his hair up slightly, before turning back into a dog and bounding out of the room.  
  
"Severus," Dumbledore began again, "you know what I must ask of you. Only if you're ready... only if you're prepared..."  
  
"I am," Snape replied with a nod. He did not look as confident as he usually did, however. Instead, he was paler than normal, and had a slight look of apprehension on his face as he swept out the door.  
  
There was another long moment when no one spoke, before Dumbledore excused himself, taking Noah with him out the door. Marik sighed tiredly, slumping back into his chair.  
  
"And here I thought this night couldn't get any worse," he bemoaned as Yugi got up from his seat, going over to the window. Yami Seto plopped into a chair next to him.  
  
"Dark Lord rises, Yami Marik returns, Ministry doesn't believe a damn word we say," he said. "Yeah, I'd say we're in a bit of a pickle."  
  
Suddenly, there was a smacking sound from the window. Everyone turned to see Yugi clutching something in his fist, a triumphant look on his face. He saw that the others were staring at him, though, and blushed, edging away from the window.  
  
"Sorry," he muttered, making his way to Yami Bakura. He grabbed the tomb robber by his hair, pulling him out of his seat and out of the room in barely contained excitement. Everyone sweatdropped as the tomb robber's shouted curses and protests died away with the closing of the door.  
  
Jonouchi and Sugoroku exchanged befuddled expressions, before they both turned to Yami Yugi.  
  
"What was that about?" 


	27. The Beginning Once Again

Yu-Gi-Oh!  
Dawn of Fate  
.  
.  
Wow, what a trip it's been for this story. Now that we're at the final of year four, at the end of the middle, I thought I'd share some numbers with you guys that this series has wracked up so far.  
  
Total number of chapters: 73  
Total number of pages (in original MW format): 527  
Total number of characters (not counting Author's notes, with spaces): 1,482,548  
Total number of words (not counting Author's notes): 264,112  
Total number of paragraphs: 8,870  
Total number of reviews: 1,745 and counting  
  
Skyla: O_o Damn... that's a lot of typing...  
  
[Seto walks into Skyla's room, holding the Millennium Rod.]  
  
Skyla: Ah, Seto. I see you got your... ::coughs:: THE Rod back. What did you do with that reviewer's yami?  
  
Seto [smirks]: I kicked her out of the tree house.  
  
Skyla: O_O!!! You... DO realize how high off the ground we are... right?  
  
[Seto grins evily.]  
  
Skyla: Oui... -_-;;;  
  
Seto: Read, enjoy, and then review.  
.  
.  
.  
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN - THE BEGINNING ONCE AGAIN  
  
Yami Bakura was starting to understand why the pharaoh always told him to never get on a hikari's bad side, particularly Yugi's bad side. The small duelist was practically cackling in a manner that could only be described as sadistic as he pulled him along by his hair, finally coming to a stop halfway down the hallway before letting him go. The tomb robber rubbed his head painfully, running a hand through his poor abused hair.  
  
"What was that for?" he groaned, making a face as he pulled out a clump of hair that had come loose because of Yugi's attack.  
  
"I've caught her!" Yugi exclaimed, sounding elated. "I've caught Rita Skeeter!"  
  
Yami Bakura frowned. "Yugi... what EXACTLY are you holding?"  
  
"A beetle."  
  
The tomb robber sweatdropped, but before he could say anything, Yugi added, "Remember that Sirius is an unregistered Animagus? Well, so's Skeeter!"  
  
"She can turn into a bug?" Yami Bakura asked dully. Yugi nodded emphatically. "Are you sure, kiddo? It'll make you look pretty stupid if that thing turns out to be a real bug."  
  
"I know I'm not wrong," Yugi returned, holding onto the Puzzle with his free hand while he kept his other hand enclosed around the Rita-bug. He closed his eyes, and after a moment, the Puzzle responded, glowing as darkness surrounded the two of them.  
  
Yugi had not told his other half - he would have been furious if he had - but the day he had skipped Potions in order to seek out Yami Bakura was the day he had started taking lessons from the tomb robber on how to summon the Shadow Realm and play Yami-no-Games. He was a quick study, since he already got the gist of it from watching his other self. They had to keep his ability to use the Puzzle's power a secret, however; if the pharaoh ever found out he could do something like this, he would probably go ballistic.  
  
Once the darkness was in place, Yugi opened his other hand. The beetle he had captured was sitting there, quivering slightly, seemingly looking around in terror. Yugi smiled down at it; a weird, sort of sadistic smile that looked so out of place on his face, the tomb robber actually took a step back in nervousness.  
  
"I'd suggest you reveal your true form, Rita," Yugi told the bug softly, "because you're not getting out of here any time soon."  
  
He tossed the bug in front of him... and all of a sudden it became a human dressed in loud robes and horrid glasses. Rita Skeeter landed on her rear end with a THUD, looking between Yugi and Yami Bakura, and all around her in fear. Finally, she scrambled to her feet, before taking off in a frantic run, disappearing into the darkness. The tomb robber sighed happily.  
  
"I love it when they try to run..." he commented idly, turning around.  
  
Yugi turned around as well, waiting patiently. After a moment, Rita appeared before them again, breathing heavily as if she had been running a very long distance. Yami Bakura grinned and raised a hand in greeting.  
  
"Oui! Long time no see," he jibbed.  
  
Rita backed up in fear. "Wh...what do you want with me?"  
  
"Oh...?" Yami Bakura asked mockingly. "You mean you can't figure that out? Your 'Witch Weekly' article insulted a pharaoh - two pharaohs, as a matter of fact, considering Panseru did not take too kindly to being referred to as a peasant. Such an offense was punishable by death or torture in the old days, depending on what kind of mood the pharaoh was in when the offender was captured. Oh, and by the way -" he nodded down toward Yugi - "the pharaoh's pissed."  
  
Yugi was glaring at her with a hard look that was rarely ever seen on his face. Rita squeaked in fear and took another step back, but she did not run away again. Yami Bakura smirked again at her reaction, before leaning down to whisper in Yugi's ear.  
  
"Remember, kiddo," he said softly, "get a clear picture of what you want to do in your mind, before commanding the Shadows to make it happen. It'll be less difficult that way."  
  
"I understand."  
  
Yugi closed his eyes a moment, making sure what he wanted to do was picture perfect in his mind before calling on the power of the Puzzle. He raised a hand over his head, and the Puzzle glowed, commanding the darkness that separated him and Rita to take the shape of the thing in his mind. A floor mat's worth of small tablets appeared suspended in the air before them, each with a different image on it; they looked like miniature versions of the monster tablets of Ancient Egypt.  
  
"This is a Yami no Concentration Game," Yugi announced, opening his eyes to glare at Rita again. "As a reporter, you know that attention to detail is essential, so this should be easy for you. The rules are simple. Once the game starts, these tablets will flip face down. Touch a tablet to flip it back face up. Match two tablets together, and they'll disappear. Flip over a non-matching pair, and you loose. It will get harder, however; as every time a tablet disappears, a new one with unknown marking will take its place."  
  
"What happens if I win?" Rita asked, her voice shaking slightly.  
  
Yugi just shrugged. "If you win, you can leave here unharmed. If you loose or you cheat..." He smirked slightly. "You'll pay the price."  
  
Yami Bakura backed off as Yugi raised his arm again. He had to admit; the kid had talent and a good mind for games. Though, considering whom his other half was, that was no surprise.  
  
"Game start!"  
  
As promised, the tablets flipped themselves over, covering what was on them. The tomb robber watched as Yugi took the first turn, touching two of the tiles in quick succession. The tablets he chose flipped over, revealing a Kuriboh etched on each one. They disappeared; only to be replaced by two more face down ones. Rita took her turn, her mannish hands shaking as she reached out and touched two tiles. They flipped over to reveal two Blue Eyes White Dragons, before disappearing and being replaced by face down tiles as well.  
  
The game continued for what seemed like hours, neither one of them having made a mistake. Yugi remained confident through it all, though Rita seemed to get more and more agitated as the minutes wore away. Yami Bakura knew there could not have been any of the original tablets left at this point, and he was starting to wonder when one of them would miss...  
  
Yugi completed matching two Black Magicians. Rita took another turn, reaching out to tap a tablet nearest to her. It flipped over to reveal another Blue Eyes White Dragon. She gripped her arm with her other hand, fighting to keep it steady as she reached over for another tablet and tapped it...  
  
...to reveal a Holy Elf.  
  
Rita backed away in shock as the tablets disappeared entirely.  
  
"Game over."  
  
Rita looked up at him in fear, backing away again when she saw the Millennium Puzzle start to glow once more. Yugi's expression was unreadable as he gazed back at Rita, the Eye of the Wisdom of Darkness coming to light on his forehead, pulsing in anticipation.  
  
"Rita Skeeter," Yugi began, his tone making him sound more like his other half, "you report nothing but lies, insulting people and hurting others. Any punishment I could give would be too good for scum like you."  
  
He raised an arm, pointing a finger at Rita... the pharaoh passing judgment...  
  
"Batsu Game...!"  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Their trunks were packed, their owls were caged and cats were waiting by their sides or on their shoulders; everyone in Harry's little congregation of friends and Egyptian spirits were waiting on the crowded steps of the school for the carriages that would take them to the train station. It was an absolutely beautiful day outside, and Harry was far from anxious to return to Privet Drive that evening.  
  
"'Arry!"  
  
They all turned to see Fleur Delacour running up to them (Seto noticeably straightened out his robes while his yami laughed at him). Beyond her, on the grounds, Hagrid was assisting Madame Maxime in hitching the carriage horses up to their harnesses.  
  
"We will see each uzzer again, I 'ope," she said, holding out her hand. Harry shook it, before she turned her gaze up to Seto.  
  
Marik cleared his throat, before starting to push the others away. "C'mon, guys. Let's go say goodbye to Krum."  
  
Everyone was herded off, leaving Seto and Fleur to themselves. He gave their backs a scathing glare, but her laughter brought him out of it. He smiled down at her, grateful that she could laugh despite their embarrassing antics.  
  
"If they are alwayz like that," she said, "I th'nk I would enjoy Japan very much."  
  
Seto gave a half-hearted attempt at a smile. "Oh, believe me. They're always like that."  
  
Fleur giggled again, before whispering in a devious manner, "I will zee you this zummer then, yes?"  
  
He outright grinned at that. "Definitely."  
  
She flashed him another bright smile before heading toward the Beauxbatons carriage. Seto bit his lip, his mind racing. Something within him - he could not tell if it was his other half or his own conscious - but something was telling him that he should tell her... before she left... incase they ended up not seeing each other over the summer...  
  
"Fleur!" he called, stepping forward a bit. She turned around, surprised, and Seto instantly felt his heart hammering in his chest.  
  
"Ai...aishiteru," he said. "I love you."  
  
A smile slowly spread on Fleur's face, before she ran back over to where he was standing, throwing her arms around his neck. The two of them shared a gentle parting kiss, which would have lasted a lot longer than what it did if it were not for the clicking and whirring of a camera. Seto parted from her, looking up to give his best annoyed glare to Yami Bakura, who was taking pictures a few feet away. The tomb robber took a few more pictures, before giving the two of them a rude gesture.  
  
"A years worth of blackmail is great for people like me, moneybags!" he shouted, before taking off like the God of Obelisk was after him. Seto growled, about ready to give chase, when Fleur pulled him down again for a quick kiss.  
  
"Give him a good hex for me," she encouraged, before sending him on his way.  
  
Meanwhile, everyone out of their group that were waiting for the carriages to arrive sweatdropped when they saw the businessman starting to chase the tomb robber. Harry sighed, shaking his head, as a group of carriages pulled by strange creatures approached the gathered students. He frowned, watching as everyone started to board them.  
  
"Where are the horseless carriages?" he asked Ron. He looked at him like he grew another head.  
  
"You need your glasses checked, Harry," he said, pointing. "They're right there."  
  
~.oOOo.~  
  
Yugi bounded happily back into their compartment near the back of the trail, clutching the lunch he had bought off the nice witch with the trolley as he bounced back onto Yami Yugi's lap. As he went to put his money back in his school bag, however, a copy of the "Daily Prophet" fell out. Harry gave the newspaper a suspicious look, not really sure if he wanted to know what was in there.  
  
"There's nothing in there," Yugi said, catching his look. "The only thing they had in there was a brief article about you and Marik-kun winning the tournament. Not a word about Voldemort or anything. I guess Fudge is really keeping it quiet."  
  
"He'll never keep Rita quiet," Harry said bitterly.  
  
A strange sort of smile spread across Yugi's face. "Oh... Rita's not going to be writing anything for quite a while."  
  
Yugi giggled, exchanging knowing looks with Yami Bakura. The tomb robber just grinned sadistically, as his hikari gave him a confused look.  
  
"What are you two going on about?" Bakura asked.  
  
Yami Bakura chuckled, motioning to Yugi. "You tell 'em, kid. It was your idea."  
  
"Actually, it was Marik-kun that gave me the idea," Yugi replied, pulling his school bag close to his chest in excitement. Marik blinked in confusion from where he was snuggling with Hermione.  
  
"I did?" he asked. "When?"  
  
"Before the third task," Yugi answered, reaching into his bag. "BUGGING. You see, Rita is an unregistered Animagus. She can turn herself..."  
  
He paused for dramatic effect, before pulling a small sealed glass jar out of the bag. Inside were a few twigs and leaves, and one very large and fat bug.  
  
"...into a beetle!"  
  
Everyone gathered around the jar in shock as a proud look came over Yugi's face.  
  
"You've gotta be kidding..." Ron murmured, staring at it.  
  
"No, he's not," Seto said, pointing to the bug's head. "Look, around her antennae. Those are the same markings as those ugly glasses she wears."  
  
"Wait a minute!" Harry exclaimed. "I saw a beetle on the statue we were hiding behind the night we heard Hagrid telling Madame Maxime about his mum!"  
  
Ron nodded emphatically as Yugi grinned. "Precisely. And mou hitori no boku pulled a beetle out of my hair after he asked me to go to Egypt with him during the second task. She's been buzzing around for stories all year."  
  
A suddenly look dawned on Draco's face as Yami Yugi took the jar from his light half's hand. "One time before Care of Magical Creatures, I saw Ecillia talking to something in her hand. The Slytherins must have known about this; that's how she got all those interviews!"  
  
Yugi nodded, taking back the jar from his other half. The Rita-beetle buzzed angrily against the glass.  
  
"I told her she had to stay like that for a whole year," he said proudly, "or until I let her out, whichever happened first. And I made sure she couldn't transform back into a human either."  
  
Again, him and Yami Bakura exchanged knowing grins, before Yugi slipped the jar back into his bag. Just then, the compartment door slid open, revealing quite an unwelcome sight. Ecillia stood in the doorway, her arms crossed haughtily. Crabbe and Goyle were behind her as always, looking stupidly arrogant and menacing.  
  
"Oh, well done, Mutou," she said, walking slowly into the compartment, a smirk tugging at her lips. "You caught a pathetic reporter, and Pothead's Dumbledore's favorite boy again. Big deal."  
  
Her smirk widened as she turned to Harry. "Trying not to think about it, are we?" she sneered. "Trying to pretend it hasn't happened?"  
  
Draco stood before Harry, cutting Ecillia off from him. "Get lost," he said in a low, threatening voice.  
  
Ecillia snorted in contempt. "You've picked the losing side, my dear cousin! But, it's too late now. You and all your precious friends will be the first to go, now that the Dark Lord's back! Mudbloods and Muggle-lovers first! Well... second. Ishitar was first; shame he didn't st-"  
  
It was as if a miniature explosion had gone off in the compartment. A blinding blaze of spells blasted from every possible direction, creating a deafening series of bangs. When the smoke and light cleared, Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle were all unconscious in the doorway. The eight humans and four Egyptian spirits were still on their feet, each of them having used a different hex... and they were not the only ones.  
  
"Thought we'd see what these three were up to," Fred said casually, stepping on Goyle as he made his way into the compartment. George followed right behind, making sure to step on Ecillia. Both of them had their wands out.  
  
"Interesting effect," George commented idly, prodding Crabbe with his foot. "Who used the Furnunculus Curse?"  
  
"That was me," Aishisu said, still gripping her own version of Hermione's wand tightly.  
  
George grinned. "Nice going, spirit lady!" he congratulated. "Anyway, I had used Jelly-Legs. Looks like those two shouldn't be mixed."  
  
Indeed it seemed that way. Crabbe had sprouted little tentacles all over his face.  
  
"Well, lets not leave them here," Fred said. "They aren't doing much for the décor."  
  
Draco, Harry, and Yami Seto kicked, rolled, and pushed the unconscious Slytherins out of the compartment; each of who looked worse than the other because of the jumble of jinxes they had been hit with. Finally getting them out into the corridor, they came back in and locked the door shut.  
  
"Exploding Snap, anyone?" Fred offered, pulling out a pack of cards.  
  
Yami Bakura made a face. "I'd rather have the pharaoh kick my ass in Duel Monsters."  
  
The rest of the ride continued pleasantly enough (with the tomb robber staying true to his word, and getting horribly beaten several times in Duel Monsters games against Yami Yugi). Harry knew it would all have to end soon, and he was not entirely too keen on going back to Privet Drive. Then again, was he ever anxious to go back to live with his aunt and uncle? All too soon, however, the Hogwarts Express was pulling up at Platform Nine and Three Quarters. Yugi and the others gathered their belongings, before struggling past the still unconscious Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle in the hallway. Marik and Harry stayed put, however. They exchanged glances, knowing what they were going to do.  
  
"Fred, George, wait up," Marik said.  
  
The twins stopped just as they were about to leave, turning to face them. Harry and Marik nodded to each other, before reaching into their respective trunks and pulling out their Triwizard winnings.  
  
"Here, it's yours," Harry said as they thrust the sacks of Galleons in each of the boys' hands.  
  
"Wh-wh-what?!" Fred exclaimed, absolutely shocked.  
  
"Take it," Marik said. "We don't want it."  
  
"You're mental," George proclaimed, trying to give Harry back his. Harry would not take it, however.  
  
"No, we're not," he replied. "Take it, and get inventing. Use it for the joke shop you guys want to open."  
  
"They ARE mental," Fred said, looking at the sack in his hands in awe.  
  
"Hey," Marik began, "if you don't take it, we're throwing it down the drain. I don't want it. Harry doesn't want it. We don't need it either. But what we will need is a few good laughs. I have a feeling we all will before this is all over."  
  
George weighed the moneybag in his hands. "Harry..." he said weakly. "There has to be at least a thousand Galleons in here..."  
  
Harry grinned. "Yeah... a thousand Galleons... EACH."  
  
"Think how many Canary Creams that is," Marik said, also grinning.  
  
The twins just stared.  
  
"Just don't tell your okaa-san where you got it," Marik continued, serious now. "And do us a favor, and get Ron a better set of dress robes and say they're from you. He looked absolutely horrid in that thing he wore to the Yule Ball."  
  
They left the compartment and the train before the twins could say another word (making sure to step on Ecillia, Crabbe, and Goyle as they did so). Out beyond the barrier, Uncle Vernon was waiting impatiently for Harry, while Isis was waiting for Marik. Yugi and Yami Yugi were off in a corner, conversing with Sugoroku and Jonouchi. Harry caught something along the lines of Sugoroku telling Yugi's mother the truth about the spirit of the pharaoh, before Mrs. Weasley came up and hugged him tightly.  
  
"I think Dumbledore will let you come to us later in the summer," she said. "Keep in touch, Harry."  
  
"See you, Harry!" Ron exclaimed, clapping him on the back.  
  
"Bye, Harry," Hermione said, giving him a quick peck on the cheek.  
  
"Ja ne, Harry-kun!" Yugi shouted, standing next to his other self, who still had a massive sweatdrop hanging over his head from the conversation with Yugi's grandfather.  
  
"Sayonara, Harry-kun," Seto called. "See you next year."  
  
"Harry... thanks..." George muttered, Fred nodding rapidly behind him.  
  
Harry winked at them and waved goodbye to all his friends, before turning back to Uncle Vernon. He followed him out from the station, to the car where his Aunt Petunia and cousin Dudley were waiting. As he crawled into the back seat next to his cousin, he made a promise to himself...  
  
What would come would come... what would happen to him would happen to him... and he knew that he would have to meet it all when it did... 


End file.
